


Truth Be Told

by Cascadenight



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Drama, Mentions of Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 10:06:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 112,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18914773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cascadenight/pseuds/Cascadenight
Summary: The early years of Johto and Kanto are filled with turmoil and endless crimes. Right and wrong are blurry with Team Rocket gaining control. Serena has had enough of them, with the help of Lance, she hopes to bring both regions together. But the past has a funny way of holding her back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time posting on this site, if there are any mistakes or it looks weird, please tell me! This story has been in the works for a long time and if you're new to my work, it's going to go with a lot of OC centric stuff. I understand OCs are not everyone's cup of tea, so please read at your own discretion.  
> This story has Lance as the love interest (he's my fave!) However, romance won't be coming in until way later and you'll see why. This story has to do with Team Rocket/Mewtwo/Giovanni and such. For a while it will be in past tense, as a warning. Reviews are appreciated, especially since it's been a long time since I've written so let me know what you think!
> 
> Warning there is death already in this chapter, not gruesome but there is a blood mention in the beginning.
> 
> ###### 
> 
> Chapter 1: The Ties that Divide 
> 
> ###### 

Marnie was a dutiful wife. All her life she wanted nothing more than a family. No matter what it looked like; friends, one kid or more, a husband or not. She had love to give and, dammit, she was going to give it! No matter the time, or her state of healthy, everything in the house was in working order. It was how her mother had always taught her. Meals for the week were prepped the weekend before, her daughter's backpack packed with everything signed, looked over and a (healthy!) lunch. Her husband was always well fed and, with a to-go cup filled to the brim with piping hot coffee, ready for work.

This always filled her with happiness and a sense of accomplishment. Her family relied on her and she was going to be there for them, rain or shine.

So when she woke up with a stomachache, she forced herself to get out of bed and get the day started. Being mid school year she was well set in her schedule. Even Wigglytuff, Komori, was up without prompt by the time Marnie came trudging out of her bathroom. Dark green hair pinned up in a loose bun, dressed in capri's and a loose button up; Marnie rubber her tummy as she padded to the kitchen.

Morning light filtered in through the kitchen window, greeting human and pokemon as Marnie put on some coffee and Komori took her spot at the table. The pink pokemon filled the kitchen with her soft singing, carefully enough to keep Marnie calm, and not lull her back to sleep.

Soon the sound of sizzling bacon and eggs cracking filled the kitchen. It brought the whole house alive, upstairs Marnie's husband inhales deeply as the familiar sounds pulls him from his fitful sleep. The sound of footsteps rushing through the house alert Marnie to the presence of her daughter barreling into the kitchen ready for the day.

Her daughter is the spitting image of Marnie herself, though more haggard in her current state. Amber's dark green hair looked as though she went through a tornado, her pajamas even more so. The one trait that Marnie is happy her daughter got was her morning bird attitude; Amber's eyes shine in the morning as she prepares for the day ahead of her. If anything explained their daughter better, Marnie had yet to find it.

Amber had a taste for life, no matter how bland certain days could be. It was even more than Marnie's own tastes!

Next to her daughter, her husband appeared, dreary eyed and just as haggard as Marnie's hair and clothes. He never looked rested and it hurt Marnie to see him in such a state, the opposite to his quick thinking, fast talking self. The complete contrast between the two of them was astounding and entertaining for her in the least.

"Good morning!" Marnie beamed as she scooped portioned out the food and set it on the table.  
Komori cheers as her food is oured for her and everyone takes their seats.

"Smells divine, darling," her husband hummed before taking a large gulp of hot coffee.

"Thank you, my love," she replied while running a hand through his hair. "You should get a cut."

"I wouldn't be Dr. Fuji as everyone knows me then would I?" he teased with a glint in his eye.

Marnie couldn't help but laugh at the quip. "If that's what you're going with this morning, then I will too."

"Mom, mom! I get to paint today in art class," Amber started up while she stuffed a forkful of eggs in her mouth.

Marnie chuckled and wiped a bit of egg off her daughter's cheek. "And what are you going to paint, sweetie?"

"Komori!"

At the sudden exclamation of her name, the family pokemon stopped eating and glanced up with wide eyes. Food crumbs splattered on her mouth and cheeks hit the floor as the pokemon swallowed her bite. The family laughed at the sight before Marnie wiped the pokemon's face and cleaned the floor with a soft kiss on the pokemon's head.

"I think it's a beautiful idea. We will have to hang it up on the fridge when you bring it home, then," Marnie mused. "She's an excellent subject for your art."

Beep. Beep. Beep!

All smiles died down as Marnie imagined the list Fuji had to do at work and Amber realized she had less time with her father. The young girl continued to eat in silence as both parents rose and left the table. Marnie grabs Fuji's coat and helps him into it before pouring his unfinished coffee into his to-go mug with a sour look on her face.

"Don't be mad, my love," he cradled her face in his hands. "I promise, it'll get better soon."

"When you apply to that new lab in Pallet Town?" she questioned with an innocent smile.

He scoffed and pecked her on the lips. "Let's discuss it tonight, shall we? After admiring our baby's work, of course."

"We better," Marnie sighed. She doubted he would be home that night and while she's disappointed, his attempted to pacify her (no matter how feeble) was appreciated. "I love you."

"And I love all my girls very much!" he exclaimed through the house, earning cries from his daughter and pokemon. "Be good today, Komori and Amber!"

Fuji winked at his wife before disappearing out the door.

It isn't long before Marnie is sending Amber off to the bus stop down the street. The pit in her stomach doesn't dissolve over the course of the day as she runs her errands. Every noise, every word punctuated as if she were dreaming.

Marnie set down her tea cup just as she heard the familiar rumble of the school bus engine headed down the street.

She gathered her things and slipped inside for just a moment to set down the paper and cup before pulling on her sandals. She always looked forward to this time of the day, when her little girl returned and they would spend the rest of the afternoon on crafts until dinner.

Amber was a blessing, Marnie's light in the darkness. She inherited her husband's features, but she had Marnie's optimistic disposition. She was always teaching her daughter just how wonderful life is and how to make the most of it. While still being a little girl, Marnie wished her daughter to never lose her innocence and spark that brings a smile to people's faces.

"Maybe we'll make Fuji a good luck charm to carry around," she mused to herself as she headed down the street towards the bus stop.

Her stomach pains had lessened, and she was starting to feel better. A small cluster of kids scurried out of the bus, each of them running towards their parents with glee. Marnie saw her young daughter step out of the bus and head towards her side of the street. The dark haired mother beamed and picked up her pace to catch up to her child.

"Amber, sweetie!" she called, just as she always did.

The young girl turned, ready to respond when the street filled with the screeching of tires. Terrified, Amber paused in the middle of the street. Her eyes were round as saucers as she took in the dark car as it careened around the corner with police in tow. Marnie's heart dropped as her legs suddenly felt heavy as she forced herself to push towards her daughter.

On the sides, parents clutched their children while shouting for Amber to get out of the way, hoping she would regain her sense.

"Move!" Marnie howled, desperately sprinting down the street. Her chest was heaving with the effort, her blood racing through her veins and pounding in her ears.

But she was far too late.

Amber turned just in time for the car to swipe one side of the girl's body. Marnie would never forget the way her daughter's body was was thrown, like a doll, to the ground. Red splattered the pavement as screams filled the air. Marnie's legs carried her the rest of the way to her bloodied daughter, unconscious on the ground.

All around her, life stopped. There were no sounds, no colors, nothing. Only the replaying image of her daughter being tossed through the air and hitting the ground with sickening force.

Grasping Amber, Marnie pulled her bloodied mass of hair out of her face while calling for her to wake up. But she could feel it in the way her daughter's body was slumped and dead weight in her arms. Tears blurred her vision as she rocked back and forth sobbing and howling in the street.

What happened next was a blur to her. She heard voices, orders, being shouted above her before medics took Amber, her precious baby daughter, away from her.

Of course, Marnie fought against it all. Her baby needed her, didn't they see that? Someone consoled her. Fuji? No, he was at work, unaware that his little girl was hurt.

Marnie regained awareness at the hospital while she dialed her husband's number.

Blood soaked her shirt and pants where she had held the limp body of Amber so close to her. Tears pooled in her eyes as she explained to Fuji the situation. He kept it together better than her, curse his scientist brain. No matter the situation, he kept a level head and followed protocol. Even when her water broke, he was able to function all the way to the hospital. But how could he stay so calm when their only daughter's life hung on so weakly?

Fate has a funny way of working; something can be lost or gained in the same day. And that can have an effect on countless other lives connected or unconnected to those around them. Fate is cruel and never stops in pulling its strings.

That day, Fuji gained his dream job, but lost his daughter. Marnie got what she wanted, her husband found a better job, but lost her baby. At school, Amber had drawn a picture of their family as she saw it. Happy and together.

That was the last time they'd be seen as such.

Her string may have been cut, but its threads reached out took hold of other's lives.

From the night of her death, her parents spiraled. Her father got his job working in genetics research. His wife tried finding different ways to cope with the loss, but living in the same town, without his support, became too much. After she found out about his attempts to clone their daughter, to replace the one golden ray in their life with some cheap imitation, she left. She went home to live with her parents and to try and forget about the life she once thought was perfect.

Fuji's conditioned only declined from there. He needed money to fund his research and get his daughter back. He started pitching his ideas only to be turned down even by the lowliest of criminal organizations.

Then his luck changed.

**OoOoOoO**

"Just the man I wanted to see."

Fuji flinched at the sound of the other man's voice. It was sharp, and despite the warm words, it still sounded like a threat.

But what could he expect? After all, he was here, in the shady side of Viridian City on an invitation delivered directly to his house. The promise of his research being funded waited on one mysterious condition, and that was what he was there to find out. He'd do anything to try and get his daughter back, at least, that was what he told himself before he heard the sharp voice beckoning him closer.

Months ago, he never would have expected to be meeting somewhere like this, knowing that his research was on the verge of becoming illegal. But it wasn't yet, and he intended to make it before he had absolutely no chance at all.

"H-hello, sir," he greeted the shaded figure at the end of the long, rectangular office in a meek tone. His hands were shaking in his jacket pockets as he approached the large, mahogany desk. There was a faint smell of cigarette smoke in the air as he got closer, as well as the scent of a Persian. He nearly leapt out of his skin as said pokemon's eyes stared at him from behind the desk, their red hue piercing his heart.

The man in the chair laughed; it was a surprisingly warm laugh. "You have nothing to fear, I did not invite you here to die. Only to strike a deal."

"A-and if I were to refuse such a deal? A mere hypothetical situation," he added, gaining his courage little by little. This man wanted him here, then he would be the one to set the guidelines of the deal.

"Then I'd let you go and say you are a pathetic excuse for a geneticist to turn down what I have in store for you," he replied. Fuji could see the smile spreading across the other man's face. Intrigued, Fuji took a seat across from the man, his lips pursed and his brows furrowed as he prepared to listen to his pitch. "As you know, I am the leader of the elite organization known as Team Rocket. I am in search of the most powerful pokemon in the world, a challenging feat, I know, but I think I have something."

"Yes? Then why am I here?" Fuji frowned, clasping his hands and sitting back. The realization hit, and he leaned forward once more. "What is this 'something', anyway?"  
"You've heard of the pokemon Mew, I presume?"

"The pokemon thought to be the ancestor to all other pokemon? It's real?"

"Yes. And we've found proof: an eyelash," the man continued, knowing he had the scientist's full attention.

"And what would you want me to do with it?" Fuji questioned, not believing the news. "Verify its credibility?"

"Think about it. I know you are the best in your field of genetics," the response was tense. The man rose from his chair and rounded the desk, his Persian watching him from his spot on the ground. Standing in front of Fuji, the scientist got a full view of his face. Angular and sharp, the face of a man used to dealing with the darkest points of life and changing it to his advantage. Despite the fear that he was feeling, the excitement of something like this overcame his sense of self-preservation.

"You want me to clone Mew."

"Yes," the man grinned, though it only served to make his eyes seem like they were glaring when he did. "I understand that you lost a little girl a few months back. I am sorry for your loss. I have a little niece myself, and it would be a terrible loss if she were gone. I am able to fully fund your work into bringing her back as long as you make me a powerful pokemon. Do we have a deal?"

Fuji stared up at the man, Giovanni, as he alluded to in the invitation.

It was clear that his intentions were skewed, but the opportunity was a once in a lifetime kind of opening. If anything, he could make breakthroughs and get his daughter back in mere months rather than the projected years.

"After you get what you want, will I still have funding for my work until it's finished?" Fuji replied. He needed his bases covered.

"Of course. A team will be provided for you. I've found countless others who want to assist you in this endeavor."

"Can I request someone be brought in?"

"Depends."

"You're a gym leader, aren't you? Then you know him. Blaine."

"Ahh, yes. I assure you he'll be there."

At this point, it was clear to Fuji that he must do it. This is what he'd been searching for, an offer that helped him get his daughter back. In addition, he would get to recreate a legendary pokemon. He would surely become rich after this, he could imagine how much he would learn by the end of this. The loads of labs calling him, all hoping to get him to work with them in finding cures or even more.

And his daughter. Amber, standing at his side once again as they traversed the world together, hand in hand. He'd be able to watch her grow into a smart and beautiful young woman with the world's knowledge at her fingertips. He just needed to do this one thing, and it would all come true.

"Where do I sign?"

**XxXxXxX**

"Sir, Dr. Fuji is here to see you," a grunt informed the boss as Giovanni took a sip of whiskey at his desk.

The past few years had been average in the department of money making, but outstanding in Fuji's field. He had obtained a live specimen, and it was steadily growing. It seemed that Giovanni hadn't made a mistake in hiring him after all. Now he just needed to find a way to keep himself afloat until the specimen was ready.

His contacts needed pokemon, and he needed a way of shipping out some while simultaneously pulling in money.

"Send him in," the boss sneered and turned to face the door.

Beside him, Persian stirred from his slumber and lifted his head to purr at his master's hand. Giovanni stroked the pokemon's head before clasping both hands beneath his chin as the scientist stepped into the room.  
Over the past few years, Fuji had grown to see Giovanni as a boss he didn't need to be scared of as long as he did his job. The man was rude and scary, to say the least, but he gave him what he needed any time he asked for it. There had been no quarrels so far, and Fuji intended to keep it that way.

Ragged and sleep deprived, the scientist fell into the chair in front of the Rocket Boss's desk and began to talk. He knew Giovanni despised waiting.

"There's a slight problem, well, a future problem," Fuji started, waiting to be urged to continue.

"What do you mean?" Giovanni raised his brow, giving Fuji the opportunity to go on.

Fuji released a sigh and clasped his own hands. "The specimen will grow to be quite powerful. However, my professional advice after talking with the other scientists, would be to get a control, if you will, for this pokemon."

"'A control'?" the boss echoed before testing his theory. "You mean something to keep the pokemon in control, behavior wise or power wise."

"Both. On this earth, it's commonly believed that everything has a balance. A simple example would be the food chain, something to keep nature going smoothly. Pokemon have their own balances between their ecosystems with each other," the scientist explained. "If we just add in this all powerful pokemon with nothing to counteract it, there could be unforeseen consequences."

"And why should I care about these consequences?" Giovanni challenged, taking a long sip of his drink.

"If you want to keep this Pokemon, then you should care. Being ignorant will only take this pokemon away from you," Fuji replied in a clipped tone.

"I see, what kind of control do you suggest, then?" the boss returned, seeming interested in where this conversation was heading.

"Before I go on, I have to say, I may need more samples to stabilize the specimen." Fuji tossed that in before moving on without giving Giovanni the chance to reply. "It could be another clone pokemon, or, to be safe, an object to inject into it that keeps it from getting too powerful for even you to handle."

"Can this 'object' be a person?" Giovanni mused with an innocent glint in his eye, but behind his hands he was grinning.

This was the opportunity to toy with nature.

"Hmm, I suppose it could be possible. There have been many accounts of pokemon and people able to communicate with one another. I suppose there could be more cases where the circumstances are different. We do have a neurologist on the team who has been tampering with the idea of bonding people and pokemon..." Fuji played with the thought while rubbing his chin. He eventually shrugged and looked at Giovanni with a half smile. "Always worth a try, right? It would have to be someone young with the energy to keep the pokemon in check. A mind sync isn't fatal, but it can be a bit painful."

"It's possible at this stage?"

"This is the best stage to do it. The brain is forming as we speak, and as long as the specimen is young. It's a good thing I need samples as well, human or Pokemon would be fine. Hopefully the subject and the samples are the same; it'd make this experiment easier."

"Excellent," Giovanni grinned. "It will take a while to locate the subject and bring her here."

"You already know someone?" Fuji frowned. "It's not a child, is it? The neurologist wouldn't like that."

"What they don't know won't hurt them."

"But-"

"Oh, and I have someone who would be able to understand this young girl. She's special on her own and will need someone of his expertise to be able to work with my neurologist. His name is Dominic Wolfe, at least that's what he goes by now," Giovanni scribbled down something in his notepad before standing to escort Fuji to the door. "I'd be careful with him around. He's a great worker, but not everything is as it seems with him around. He's also a bit obsessive. Be careful."

The door slammed shut behind Fuji, and he released a shaky exhale before heading to the helipad for a ride back to New Island. His hands shook as they had all those years ago when he first walked into Giovanni's office. He had the awful feeling that someone else might lose their daughter.

In his office, Giovanni settled at the desk and picked up his 'gear to make two phone calls. The first was sent straight to the voicemail of Dominic. He informed him that his research was needed and that he had better arrive promptly, or he would miss out. The second was to someone else, someone who he liked to pretend he was close with, but really hated deep down.

It was his brother. The two only got along in childhood before the reality of adulthood tore them apart. Giovanni took the road of leading their mother's organization, after all. She had spent most of their lives building it up and bringing home money. The two used to be close, but those days were long gone now that they were on two opposite sides of the spectrum.

Aaron worked for the G-men, but not much since Giovanni provided the director with information and even pokemon when the need arose. However, his brother's insatiable urge to rid Johto and Kanto of Team Rocket put a damper on the boss's mood.

They both chose different lives, Giovanni the one of crime where he cut corners to get what he wanted, and Aaron, who chose the life of a goody two shoe, with a beautiful wife and a daughter all living in Celadon City.

"Hello, Aaron," Giovanni greeted him with mock happiness. "Just calling to check up on little Serena. How is she? Fine? That's good. Say, doesn't she have a birthday party coming up in a few days? No, I personally won't show up, I'm not as stupid as you think...Don't worry, I'll get her something nice. Right."

They closed off without goodbyes or even a friendly exchange.

Instead, Giovanni sat back and planned the events of the day in question. Due to the Blackthorn lineage, thanks to her mother, Serena was already gifted with a bit of telepathy that Giovanni deemed useful. She was a headstrong girl, just like their mother, and that made her the one of the few he actually cared about. He believed she could make it through the testing, and if she did, then he knew she'd be easy to convince to help him.

If not, he always had Dominic to help with that.

Though the man had yet to bring him any kind of device to control humans, Giovanni had seen a prototype as well as the blueprints to such a thing. Having control over people wasn't much up the Rocket Boss's sleeve, but if it was to keep his pokemon in line, then so be it. If there was anything Giovanni learned from his mother, it was to do whatever was necessary to get what you wanted. And that's exactly what he's going to do.

And now, Amber's thread had reached another thread with the help of her father. The threads of Fate were always connecting and disconnecting, but this was a matter of connecting. Amber's thread touched several more, and the rest of the pathways kept growing until the strangest connections were made.

It was only a matter of time before it all came full circle.


	2. Dry Your Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the Birth of Mewtwo is present for the middle chunk. It's condensed and has been changed just a bit. Things are moving along quick as this is just a long introduction into the rest of the story and Serena's past. As you know this story's plot does spider out into Layla's and that story will be up soon as well. 
> 
> 'OoOo' is a time skip that's within the day (hours, minutes, etc...)  
> 'XxXx' is a time skip that is long than a day (weeks, months, etc...)  
> It's usually obvious how much time has changed as well.

Fuji regretted bringing up the ‘balance’ talk with Giovanni the moment the helicopter touched down on the helipad.

The day was bright on New Island, and the sea was calm for the most part. Wind from the blades beat at Fuji’s face as he held the door open for the grunts to get by while running a wheelchair with a little girl in it. Giovanni said she’d be unconscious when she got there and to use that to his advantage.

That’s what made him feel ill about the next few hours.

Images of Amber popped up in the back of his mind, telling him to be quick and efficient. His first goal was his daughter, his second for the day, was to make sure this girl lived and the experiment was a success.

It was going to be a long day.  
  


_**OoOoOoO** _

 

Alena George was a renowned neurologist in her field. She had kids, but no husband. In her mid-thirties, Alena had a kind and round face. She treated her colleagues and patients with respect and care. The only reason she was with Team Rocket was by force and a little bit of choice. She wanted to work with the technology they had, but for this Giovanni was forcing her hand by threatening her family.

Performing this mind sync, a sort of mind meld, made her nervous. At first, it was just the mechanics of it, the brain waves, and the biology to go along with it. Now, it was the fact that the subject was a little girl. Something Fuji hadn’t thought to tell her. She knew that he possessed that much knowledge.

She looked like a sweet little girl. Maybe eight years old with long, dark brown hair falling in cute waves to her shoulders. She donned a sparkly blue sun dress and sandals, and she wore a button alerting Alena to the fact that it was her birthday today.

Poor thing.

Shaking off that fact, Alena moved the gurney down towards the holding room where the clone was waiting. Several aids moved alongside her, applying a mask to the girl’s face and taking out the IV that pumped in fluid to keep her fine for the next few hours. Once in the room, her dress would be exchanged for a body suit. It would monitor her all her vitals as well as brain activity throughout the process.

“Ah, Alena, good to see you,” Dominic greeted the older woman with a sly smile.

The greeting was left in the air as she began shouting orders, though she nodded at him to acknowledge his presence. He left a cold spear in the pit of her stomach just by his presence. The way he spoke said that he thought he was better than you, that it was a fact everyone knew. He wanted everyone around him to feel small and inferior. He succeeded at it.

He was younger than her, maybe late twenties judging just by his face. His black hair was cut short, close to his head and spiked at the top. His eyes were a cold blue, always sharp just like his facial features. She supposes he’s good looking in an intimidating, jerk-wad kind of way.

“I’ve filled the tube with a fluid that will make the meld easier. The spinal clamp is secure as well,” Dominic began immediately, getting down to business.

The aids lowered the girl into the tube with her air mask secured. It started pumping as soon as her head was under the translucent orange liquid. In the tank beside hers floated a strange looking creature folded up in a fetal-like position. Arms crossed, straight back, eyes closed. It looked to be slumbering while wires were attached to its large forehead.

Both of their tanks were at the end of the medium sized room with four more tanks right across from them. Alena glanced at the other tanks, unsure whether or not they should perform this procedure with them in the room. The shining light of Fuji’s daughter seemed to glow as if encouraging her to continue. She imagined that the little girl would be all right with this.

The aids cleared the room as soon as Fuji stepped in. He would be overseeing the procedure as well as taking notes to study later.

“Let’s get this over with,” Alena muttered under her breath while taking her seat at the monitors.

Dominic did the same, and, with reluctance on Alena and Fuji’s part, the two began their experiment.

 

_**OoOoOoO** _  
  


_Where am I? Who am I? What am I?_

Serena felt something in her mind stir, had she and someone else spoken at the same time? How could that be? Was this a dream?

“She’s unconscious, like the clones...”

“Both their vitals are strong, I don’t understand...”

_There are others near me_.

At this, Serena opened her eyes, someone else was here with her, and she wanted to find out who. Everything was black around her, endless and impossibly deep. The last thing she remembered was being with her mother and father at her birthday party. Then some strange men came by and attacked them all.

Floating in this endless space, Serena twisted around to see something small and purple watching her.

_What are those strange noises?_ it tilted its head as if it couldn’t see her.

_Those are words,_ another voice entered along with another little girl.

Serena felt a sense of security knowing she was not the only human there, and managed to float over towards the little girl. She looked to be younger than her, but her smile was warm and inviting. Like her, she was wearing a dress with her hair down.

Once closer, the strange purple creature looked to Serena with wide eyes. The brown haired girl responded with a smile.

_They’re talking_.

It regarded the two with curious eyes before circling around them. _What are you?_

The girls exchanged looks before Serena spoke again. _What do you mean? We’re girls. Humans._

_Humans? Am I a human?_ it floated closer.

The two tilted their heads before shaking them. The mysterious girl spoke first. _You look like a pokemon, but you speak like a person. I didn’t know pokemon could speak!_

_Me neither._ Serena agreed, staring at the pokemon-like creature with curious eyes.

Something in her mind told her that this creature was a part of her and that she should trust it.

_Pokemon? Person? What are those? Which am I?_

_Maybe it makes a difference to you if you are a Pokemon or a person, but not to me!_ The young girl twirled around, opening her arms as if beckoning them to her. Three more lights appeared and formed three distinct shapes. _If you are in this place, maybe you are the same as all of us are!_

Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle appeared before them and let out a gleeful cry.

_Why are you here?_ Serena tilted her head and stared at the girl.

_Everybody here's a copy. That's why there's a "two" after all of our names._

A copy? Serena couldn’t wrap her head around it. She was not a copy, she was an original. She was Serena Lockwood. Her parents would have told her if she were a copy, wouldn’t they?

_I don’t understand,_ the creature continued, noting that it could hear Serena’s despair and feel it. _What’s wrong?_

_They call me Ambertwo, but I'm still really Amber!_ The girl continued and stared at Serena.

_I’m not a copy,_ she stated, feeling like she could cry at this point.

_That’s okay. Maybe you’re here for another reason!_ Amber grinned, reaching out but not touching Serena.

_Okay..._ the brown haired girl responded, not thoroughly convinced. She swiveled her head around to view the darkness. _Where are we?_

Amber beamed at them and spread her arms out once more. Suddenly, the darkness faded away and gave way to the light of day. Serena noticed that the city looked familiar, but she couldn’t place where she’d seen it before. Above them the sunlight gleamed like a perfect spring day.

_I call this my remember place. This is where I used to live._

_What’s that?_ the creature pointed up at the sun.

_That’s the sun,_ Serena answered.

_What’s it for?_ it responded.

_It makes the whole world bright and keeps us warm all day!_ Amber explained, closing her eyes to bask in the warmth suddenly covering them all.

_Ooh?_ The pokemon shivered as a warm breeze blew by. _What was that?_

_Wind,_ the girls answered in unison and then smiled at each other.

Amber began to float away, the small group following her as they moved about the city. _The wind helps us along. Sometimes it’s soft and sometimes it’s very strong._ Suddenly the light began to change and an orange light casted itself over everything. In the distance, the sun had begun to set. _And that's the sunset. That's when the sun says, "Goodnight! See you tomorrow."_

The pokemon began to ask more questions after that, especially with the moon appearing before them. Serena and Amber took turns in answering its questions, they even made a game of who could surprise it with the weirdest thing. They spent what felt like months in that state. Playing games and explaining things to the pokemon. Eventually they heard its name. Mewtwo.

Sometimes they’d hear voices, and sometimes Serena would leave, but she never remembered waking up or the fact that they fed her and Alena washed her before sending her right back in. Outside the tank, she didn’t seem to hold onto the bond as much until weeks later. Their minds had finally bonded as Serena was being fed, she showed signs of communicating with invisible people.

They scanned her for brain activity and it showed communication with the other clones. A breakthrough had been made.

_Where do you go?_ Mewtwo asked Serena when she had returned.

She regarded him with an open mind and managed to show him the people outside taking care of her. Neither questioned how they were able to do this, they just assumed it was normal. _That’s where I go._

_Why are they taking care of you? Are you cold?_

_I don’t have a cold, I eat, and they clean me. I don’t like it, and I want to go home_.

_Home?_

_Do you miss your mama and papa_? Amber came into view then with her radiant smile still present.

_I do..._ Serena fiddled with her hair. She didn’t want to leave them, but she wanted to be home.

_It’ll be okay,_ Amber assured her. _Are we going to play toda-huh?_

Serena frowned at Amber’s frown and turned to see Charmandertwo begin to fade into the darkness. Panic welled up in the dark haired girl as the pokemon completely disappeared and the other two began to follow.

_What’s happening?_ Serena reached out towards Squirtletwo only to watch as it disappeared between her fingertips.

Sadness gripped at her heart as the pokemon clones disappeared before them.

_Ooh..._

Her sadness deepened as she turned to see Ambertwo beginning to disappear. Around them her remember place began to dissipate just the way it came.

_What's wrong, Amber? What's happening?_ Mewtwo floated closer to her. Serena could feel the panic welling up in both of them.

_It feels... like it's time... to say goodbye..._ she responded in a much weaker voice, her smile faded.

Serena sniffled just as Mewtwo let a few tears go. _Goodbye? What are these?_

_They’re tears, we’re crying_ , Serena explained.

_Don’t cry,_ Amber smiled, but she was almost completely gone.

_I’m so sad,_ the pokemon responded, feeling hopeless and empty.

_I have to go,_ Amber murmured, Serena’s tears fell down her face as she shook her head.

_Why?_

_I don't know... but it’s all right. Thank you two for caring about me... and don't cry. You should be happy. You're alive, and life is wonderful._

With that, she disappeared right in front of them in a sparkle of light that faded back into the darkness. It was the same darkness they appeared in that first day, only now it seemed to be more deafening and empty. Serena’s heartbeat pounded against her chest as she spun around looking for Amber. They had played hide and seek; maybe this was a joke?

_These tears... what good are they?!_ Mewtwo suddenly spoke out in the darkness. Serena felt the jab of anger rise up in him, and she accepted it as her own. They turned to face each other.

_Please, Amber! Come back! Don't go! Please! Amber!_  
  


_**OoO** _

 

“Doctor, their brainwaves are out of control!”

Alena ran to the monitor and saw the graphs skyrocket . She glanced back at Fuji for what to do next. She couldn’t do anything to Serena that he wouldn’t do to Mewtwo; they had to be careful.

“It's getting too upset! It mustn't remember this! Administer the serum! Do it immediately!” he shouted at his own scientist before glancing at Alena. “Do the same for her, but give her a lower dosage.”

All was done as told, and within the half hour, the brainwaves returned to normal.

“Its brainwaves are going back to normal. Everything seems okay, doctor.”

“Nothing is okay! My Amber is gone forever. Only Mewtwo survives...” he despaired for his little girl and stared at her empty tank. Her light, gone forever, right before his eyes. It was like losing her all over again. This time, he was alone and still had work to do. “How is the girl?”

“Serena is fine, she probably won’t be able to recall this. The serum just covered up the incident,” Alena replied as the aids worked to remove her. “But this has shocked her. They’ve bonded. We can’t keep her here now that Mewtwo has most likely forgotten her. Once they’re mature, they should be able to work together much better than they can now.”

“Mewtwo will mature much faster than the girl. Giovanni has resolved to wait until _she_ is older to reach her. However, she isn’t needed, so she’s done here. She’ll leave tonight.” Fuji stated before stomping out of the room.

Alena sighed in relief and removed Serena from the room on a gurney, back to the little room allotted for her. It was a nice little room, as nice as it could be in the lab, with a small unused bed, a TV, and a short dresser. A window allowed light to filter in and gave a view of the ocean waves crashing into the shores of the island.

Next to the room, in the bathroom, Alena set to washing Serena in the bathtub. The orange liquid stuck to the skin, making her smell like plastic, and turned the water a nasty shade of orange as well.

Once she was clean and in plain clothing, Alena laid her down on the bed and made a quick phone call to get her a full meal. The down time after floating in mind space for so long was tough on the body. Serena had done well so far; she passed each proficiency test, memory test, and ate all her food. She was surprisingly resilient.

“Mm...” the girl stirred, her eyes squeezing shut before she reached up to rub her face. “W-Wha-?”

“It’s okay, little one,” Alena cooed. She couldn’t help it. Her children were at home waiting for her, and she couldn’t wait to be home. They’re all much older than Serena, but Alena loved kids. “How’re you feeling?”

“Dizzy... Who are you?” Serena sniffled and glanced around the room in fear.

“You’re safe with me. You’ll be going home soon, okay?” Alena put on a smile, her heart reached out to this girl. Curse Giovanni, he took it too far in kidnapping her. This was his own niece for Christ’s sake.

Serena let her tears fall as they went through the tests, asking her name, her age, and what she remembered last. The testing took at least twenty minutes to half an hour, enough time to get her food ready and brought down to her room. Alena watched the girl scarf down the food. She made sure Serena ate lots so that no weight was lost in her time here. It was the least she could do, letting her go was not an option.

“Alena!” Dominic’s voice roared from down the hallway.

Serena flinched, nearly spilling her drink on herself. At her fearful look, the neurologist smiled. “Don’t worry, he’s looking for me. I’ll be right back.”

In the hallway, she met Dom at one end, his blue eyes piercing her brown ones. He must have heard the news.

“What’s going on?” he snapped at her.

“Serena is too young for anything you have in store for her. Giovanni’s orders were to bond them. Now that they’re bonded, he has Fuji working on Mewtwo,” she replied in a calm manner, his brash attitude reminded her of her middle son’s teenage years. She survived it then, she would again.

“So she’s going home, leaving my research incomplete?” he huffed, crossing his arms.

“Yes. She has been ordered to be brought home. You’ll have to find something else to focus on,” she spoke in a firm tone.

“But-”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t change anything. You’ll have to bring it up with Giovanni,” she raised her hand to shake his. “It was a pleasure working with you.”

“Pfft,” he smacked her hand away before thinking better of it and taking it. “Actually, it was. You know a lot about the brain’s _other_ capabilities, even if you have no experience yourself. Good.”

Alena raised a brow, perplexed by his words, and watched him disappear down the hallway. She shook her head and turned on her heel; there was no time to think about what he meant. Serena needed to be prepped for the flight home and whatever else Giovanni had in store for her.

It was a day full of goodbyes of different kinds. Serena had been put under to be transported, seeing as Giovanni had a plan for her. Alena wished her luck in her prayers before heading right back into work. No one on the island was sure what would happen to the girl or if they’d ever see her again.

Except Dominic. He knew he’d see her again. He’d keep track of her in his search for something more. To be on Giovanni’s side, the side of power, he’d have to find ways to control a person and pokemon. He had the basics, but the application part was still needed.

On that day, many strings were tied, and likewise, many fates were sealed.

 


	3. Paralyzed

Giovanni watched Serena slumber in the seat of the helicopter in front of him. He watched Alena take great care in fastening her in and giving her a pillow to lean on for the trip. The sentiment was sweet, but he didn’t care for her comfort. 

His brother would kill him if he wasn’t careful about this drop off. She’d been missing for at least a month. Not nearly as long as he would have liked to keep her, but she was of no use now. It would be pointless for him to keep her until they were sure Mewtwo would survive the rest of the cloning process.

In the end, it was easy for the Rocket Boss to say that she wasn’t necessary at all. But how could he let such an opportunity escape? If this experiment was a success, she and Mewtwo would be bonded. She could have just a taste of his power, and if that were true… the possibilities were endless in Giovanni’s mind. 

However, he knew that he must focus on one goal first before he could get ahead of himself and ruin all that he’d planned. 

He leaned back and glanced out of the vessel to see the region of Kanto coming into view. They were being taken straight to Celadon, close to the condo where his brother and his wife lived. 

As they touched down onto the helipad of a building belonging to one of his clients, Giovanni carried the girl in his arms into the elevator down to the first floor. Surveillance showed Aaron out searching for Serena while his wife was at home making phone calls. 

“Take her and be quick! You have a fifteen minute window,” he dropped the girl in the arms of a trusted grunt. “Don’t be seen, she should wake up in a few minutes.”

“Got it, Boss.”

Giovanni watched them disappear down the street before setting off for his next job, his niece already set in the back of his mind. 

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

_ Where am I? _

Serena’s eyes creaked open to bright lights and an unfamiliar ceiling. Head spinning and heart racing, she whipped her head around looking for the strange lady or the angry man to yell at her. Where was she?  Where were they?

Beside her, a machine beeped in a slow rhythm while all around her was the smell of antiseptic. Wires flowed from her arm to the machine, but she didn’t feel heavy and confused as she did before. But this was different than when she was awake the other times. 

What had happened? Where was she?

Her mind was in turmoil as she struggled to comprehend the past day or days of her life. A flurry of faces whipped around. She recognizes none of them, or even the flashes of a room she knew she spent time in. But there was a place, she was sure of it. 

A place that was different than being awake in reality and being asleep, dreaming. It was different, and she got the feeling that it was nice. An ache in her heart told her that something happened there, but she can’t figure out what. 

A sharp jab in her skull forced her to drop the memory, and she would. At least for now. 

“Rena,” a gentle voice sang to her. Relief washed over her body as her mother filled her view, smiling and bright. “My baby, you’re safe now. Your father and I are here.”

“M-mommy?” Serena rasped, reaching up to touch her mother’s face to make sure she was indeed real. Rowan smiled and kissed her forehead many times, whispering comforting words to her daugher. “Where am I?”

“You’re at the hospital, your father is right outside talking on the phone with a friend,” she ensured her daughter, sweeping her aside to sit on the bed. “Everything is going to be okay, baby.”

“What happened?” she continued, glancing around the room, seeing flowers on the table next to her bed. She smiled at them and reached out to feel the petals between her thin fingers. 

“Someone took you from us,” Rowan spoke in a quiet voice, taking her daughter’s hand between hers. 

“Oh... Where was I?” she frowned at her mother. 

Rowan chuckled in response and brushed back her hair. “We don’t know, or else we would have gotten you sooner. Do you know where you were?”

“N-no,” Serena glanced away, embarrassed by her question. “I wanna go home.”  
“It’s okay, love. You will soon,” she soothed her. “Are you hungry? You should eat.”  
It’s the tone of voice that Serena had learned not to argue with, it sounded like a suggestion, but it wasn’t. Either way, the young girl was glad to be back with her mom, and didn’t argue when a meal fit for two was ordered for her. She got the feeling that she didn’t eat enough while she was gone. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she wasn’t given three meals a day, and was rather fed through a tube. 

The thought was dispelled as she felt it absurd without her memory to rely on. 

Her meal came in and halfway through, so did her father. 

Serena had always seen her parents as opposites. Her mother looked delicate with her long blond hair falling in gorgeous waves down her back and bright blue-gray eyes always smiling a calm, collected smile. Her slim figure was always in dressy clothing, even when teaching at the University. While her father was a strong man, one who had worked hard and had the scars to prove it. Opposite of her mother, he had dark brown hair, almost black, and eyes just as dark. 

“Hey, how’s my girl?” he put a smile on his weathered face and took his wife’s spot on the bed. Serena noted the lines on his face and the bags beneath his eyes and tried not to let her guilt show. He already had trouble getting sleep with work, and she had to make it worse.

“I’m sorry...” she mumbled, glancing down at her hands.

Without a single word, Aaron wrapped his arms around his little girl and kissed her head. “Don’t you dare apologize to me. I should apologize to you. I should have kept you safe, baby girl. But you are home now, and we’re going to focus on that, okay? If you at all remember anything or want to talk, you know that your mother and I are here.”

Serena grinned at her father, her heart swelling with relief before she went back to eating. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she had started eating. It wasn’t her mother’s food, but it was better than whatever else she had had.

While she ate, her parents discussed further action in trying to find the person that took their daughter from them. 

It was on her birthday, the entire morning had gone exceptionally well for Serena. She had her favorite, pecha berry pancakes with funfetti topping, and she had received her presents. A book for studying up on pokemon from her mother and a few trinkets Aaron had bought on his travels around Johto. By lunch things, were still going well with Serena and her father spending the day with each other while Rowan taught. But it wasn’t until late evening that it had happened. 

Dinner was a feast of Serena’s favorites. They were almost ready to go when one of the windows in the living room collapsed and a canister filled with smoke was tossed in. Rowan held onto her daughter but was knocked off by more than one assailant. Aaron stepped in and took down two of the four, but was overwhelmed by tasers and then a flash bomb.

By the time the two came around, Serena was nowhere in sight, and there was a note telling them that she’d be back in a month. 

Neither could believe it. But as random as it was, Aaron knew just who had done it. 

Giovanni.

But with no proof, he couldn’t pursue the Rocket Boss and accuse him of anything. Not with all his colleagues held under him because of their director. No one else hated working for the wrong people more than Aaron did. Society is run by people with money, and right now, that meant Giovanni and his band of accomplices. It was hard to find people to trust living this way, but there was one. 

Wesley Wataru, an old friend from the days Aaron and Rowan were dating. Back when she lived in Blackthorn under the strict supervision of her parents. 

The two men had grown to like and respect each other, they had become the best of friends and vowed to one day change the system. But that was easier said than done. The G-men had been corrupt for a long time. Both were looking for their window to strike and after this, Aaron was prepped to rip the director a new one. 

Giovanni would slip up eventually, and they would be there to catch them. 

When she returned, Serena was unconscious in the lobby of their condo after being dropped off by a hooded black figure. Of course, the police lost the trail a few blocks away in a dark alley. Aaron wasn’t convinced, but his daughter needed him. They took her to the hospital where things took a weird turn. 

Their daughter was fine, if only a little under weight. A healthy diet at home, and she’d be back on track. But the weird part was her body. She wasn’t violated or abused. However, on her back were strange scars. They started along her spine and lashed out with jagged looking arms to line her spine on each side. The skin was raised, thick and red. The doctor said that they will more than likely flatten over time, but to keep a watch on them as the nature of how she obtained them was unknown and that could affect how they healed. 

Watching Serena eat now, both parents wondered how she was feeling and just what happened while she was gone. 

“I’m fine, but I don’t really remember anything,” Serena spoke after swallowing a mouthful of food. Her dark blue eyes glanced between her parents as she picked up a rather dry biscuit and dipped it into her soup. “I remember some things... There was a lady. She was nice, and she took care of me. She fed me and helped me get cleaned up.”

“What were you doing?” Aaron questioned in a soft tone as Rowan took a seat at the end of the bed. 

“I don’t know... Sleeping? It’s weird, I was awake, but I wasn’t,” she frowned at her useless explanation. “There was also a man who seemed angry all the time, I don’t know who he was. But that’s it. The lady, the man, and the dream.”

“Do you feel any pain?” Aaron prompted, his jaw tightening as he gauged her reaction to his question. 

Serena furrowed her brow and squirmed under her parents’ gazes. “Um, my back is a little too warm. It aches too.”

Her parents exhaled and adjusted their statures before taking one of her hands in each of theirs. Rowan was the first to speak, her worry getting the best of her. 

“Rena, we ask because it seems that whatever they did has left marks on your body. These marks aren’t dangerous, but they’re pretty visible on your back.”

More frowning from their daughter as she glanced between them. “Scars?” Her squeaky voice made them flinch as they nodded in return. Serena took a deep breath before exhaling. “Are they ugly?”

“No,” her father spoke out first. “Scars are proof that we won tough battles, that we made it through life’s hardships. Someone took you for something, but you made it through. Try and be proud of your scars.”

Serena nodded, soaking up her father’s words for comfort. She just couldn’t believe that whatever happened had left a mark. She would never be the same, people would look at her and wonder what happened. What would they think when she said she didn’t know?

“Is that all?” she squeezed their hands. “Am I going to be okay?”

“Yes, darling. You are safe now,” Rowan released her hand to kiss the top of her head. “Continue eating. We’re going to leave in a few hours, and when we get home I’ll get a bath started for you.”

The idea of a bath had never sounded so appealing to the eight-year-old’s mind. Since she’d been up, she’d been nothing but stressed. She needed to relax. At the back of her mind, she wondered if she’d be able to handle the hot water with the scars on her back. 

She remembered when her father came home with a scratch on his arm many months ago. It was bleeding and fragile for the first few weeks. After that, it became a delicate pink scar once it had started to heal. Too much movement or too extreme of temperatures made it act up.

Was that going to be the same for her? 

Her mother would know, and that was a thought she was willing to contend with until the problem arose and she had to make a choice. 

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

As Serena stepped into their home, a condo on the middle floor of the Celadon Towers complex, she had an overwhelming sense that she had entered a dream. Her feet were planted on the soft carpet and the afternoon light was pouring in from the line of windows across the room, bathing her in soft golden light. It all felt like a dream. 

She let the warmth consume her until she heard her mother calling her into their master bathroom. An immediate left and then a right down the short hall lead her to her parent’s bedroom. Once inside, she took another left to end up by her mother, who had put some sweet smelling bubbles in the bath. Serena could feel the heat emanating from the tub and could only imagine how it would feel on her sore muscles. 

“I’ll go pick out some pajamas for you. Do you want anything while you’re in here?” Rowan stood up after testing the water.

“No.”

“Just a minute more, and you can shut off the faucet. I’ll be back.”

The door clicked shut behind Serena and she took this chance to strip down and toss her clothes into the laundry basket in the corner behind her. She tied her hair at the mirror before daring to look at her back. Twisting to the side, she took a deep breath before slipping a quick peek.

True to her parent’s words, her scars were visible and an angry red. Against her bronzed skin, the scars appeared smooth with darkened edges. They lined her spine with some kinks and lines lashing outwards. It reminded her of a large lightning strike, or a tree branch.

She tore her gaze away, unable to handle the look of her back. How could she be proud of something like that? Someone did that to her!

Shutting off the faucet, Serena didn’t ease herself into the tub, she slipped into it with an angry huff and stared at the ceiling. The hot water clung to her, stinging her skin with each movement until she finally adjusted to it. The sweet smelling aroma clung to her body as she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. 

These scars were fresh, so who knows? Maybe they would heal much better than the doctors expected. That was what she hoped, and she’d do whatever was needed to ensure that they got better. She’d rather them look more like her father’s, light pink ones visible only if you stared and traced them all.

“Coming in,” Rowan knocked on the door before stepping inside with a bundle of clothes in her hand. She grinned at Serena swaddled in bubbles, looking content, if not a little troubled. “What’s wrong?”

“These...scars,” she hesitated, but realized they would find out sooner or later. “Will they go away?”

Rowan set her clothes on the counter and moved to sit at the edge of the tub behind Serena. She took the tie out of her dark hair, and brushed her fingers through it. As she spoke, she began to braid. “Maybe. They’ll start to heal and will look better. It’s going to be okay.”

“How can you know?”

“They’re scars, Serena. They’re what’s leftover when something’s damaged the skin,” she tied her hair and grabbed a pin to keep it out of the water. “I understand you don’t like them, and you don’t have to. But you’ll eventually have to accept that they’re real, and you’ll have to move on.”

“But what about n-now?” Serena stammered, on the verge of tears.

Rowan leaned over to plant a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “It’s okay for you to be angry and wish you didn’t have them. Just know that tears and anger won’t make them go away.”  
After bathing, Serena sat on the couch between her parents as they conversed about something boring, and she pretended to watch TV while staring at the cityscape stretching behind the TV. Living on the middle floors allowed for some bad views of the city from above, but an okay sight of it, overall. She liked being able to see the shorter buildings up close and not being able to see the tops of other tall buildings. From the couch, the sky was visibly growing darker, giving way to night time. 

The thought of sleep filled Serena with uncertainty. She wondered if she’d be able to sleep. She didn’t feel tired, nor did her brain seem to want to shut down for a few hours at a time. 

Would she have nightmares? Or had whatever happened taken away that ability?

She couldn’t avoid sleeping forever, especially with her parents on high alert. 

On her way to bed, Serena watched as her mother released her Leafeon to accompany her daughter to bed. The pokemon would keep the air clean and even sweet, leaving Serena to feel a little relieved to share a space with her. Her parents tucked her in, an act she didn’t want, but let them do anyway, before taking their time in leaving her room. 

Their rooms were right next to each other, and that made going to bed much easier for both parties involved. 

With Leafeon at the end of the bed, Serena laid on her side, conscious of her scars and the stars at the covered window. Would someone take her tonight? She had a protector near, so probably not. Still, the fear and unbelievable reality that she was home kept Serena from falling asleep right away. She didn’t want to wake up and realize that it was a dream in a dream. That she wasn’t home at all, and that she’d be stuck in an endless loop of not knowing where she was or what she was doing. 

For a second, she wished it had all been a dream, that way the nagging sensation in her head would stop making her feel guilty for forgetting something. Or someone. 


	4. Poison In My Veins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a year for Serena and she has gone through quite a long since being taken. The serum has disrupted her memories so she has none of what happened, and struggles with it. Mew two is still growing to its adult stage during this time, if you want to compare it to the movie, the last half is during the very beginning of the first movie. Don't let that trick you though because I'm not incorporating the anime in this. Enjoy!

Serena stared out the window of her therapist’s office. It was on the fourth floor of a large building, she couldn’t quite remember the rest of its contents, overlooking Celadon City. The clerk typed away at the computer, muttering to herself about future appointments along with some numbers while occasionally glancing at Serena to make sure she was okay. 

It had been a year since her incident, and she couldn’t remember what had happened. Her parents believed it was a defense mechanism or something. The words they used kind of blurred together, and she wasn’t really paying attention. Therapy was a word she had never encountered in her everyday life before her birthday party a year before. Her parents never asked about it, but it was implied that they wondered how things went. They referred to it as a weekly check-up.

Her therapist was an old friend of her father’s, Ken Sato. Surely, he was picked because of his relationship with her father. Once he had obtained info on what happened, he would report it to him, and Aaron would go off to find the culprit. She knew this is the case just because that was how her father had been since she had come home. He was desperate to know what happened, while she was entirely indifferent to it. 

Something in the back of her mind told her that she  _ didn’t _ want to remember what had happened. Anytime she followed the trail back to her party, followed by being snatched and pulled into darkness, the darkness got muddled together. She saw the face of that lady who took care of her, but why did she need to shower so much? It felt like all she ever did was sleep, eat, and shower. 

After that, it turned into some dark void, empty and cold every time she got to it. She didn’t understand how she could just come to an empty spot of memories, but that’s how it was. Just nothing. 

But that same part of her mind was also the problem. As quiet as it could be, with her dropped off memories, it also bugged her. It started with a tugging sensation and then some garbled noise as if she were being held under water and people were trying to speak with her. Sometimes it didn’t sound like that. Sometimes it was clear, but she still couldn’t understand what was being said. At times, it happened when she was talking with her parents, or when she was asleep, but when it was over, she didn’t understand what it was. 

It unsettled her that someone had entered her mind and took something out or possibly put something in. She wanted it back. She wanted that control over herself and her memories. 

That much she had told her therapist. Other than that, they didn’t talk about anything else important. He didn’t pressure her into speaking about her muddled memories, and she didn’t volunteer the information. Instead, they talked about mundane things, everyday conversations she imagined her mother had with her fellow professors at the University, or her father at the League with the G-men. 

Dr. Sato was patient and went along with her little game. He was kind, and she felt bad not opening up to him, but she didn’t have the information he was looking for. She didn’t like the darkness, and she didn’t want to talk to him about it. 

“Serena?” her mother’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. 

She glanced up to see her mother donning a pencil skirt and a bright blue long-sleeved button-up shirt. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail with her sideswept bangs brushed behind her right ear. Wordlessly, the young girl stood and followed her mother out of the office and into the elevator. 

“How was your check-up?” 

There it was.  _ Check-up _ . 

“It was good. Dr. Sato’s son moved to some faraway region last week, and he’s having a hard time with it, mostly because he’s worried his son won’t be able to hold a job,” Serena rattled off the answer as if it was a question about the weather. 

“He told you this?” Rowan frowned at her daughter.

“Mostly,” she replied with an innocent look. 

“Were you reading his mind again?” 

“I wouldn’t say reading, more like listening to his constant mind chatter,” Serena tried to hide her smile as she glanced away. 

“What did I say about reading people’s minds?” Rowan asked as they exited the elevator. 

Serena let out a sigh and responded, “I should never read minds unless they tell me I can.”

“Exactly,” her mother nodded as they hit the street. She turned back for a quick moment to grin at her daughter. “He really thinks his son is lazy, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

The two shared a laugh before continuing along their path home. The University was only a seven minute walk from the office Serena was at, their home ten minutes from there. Usually, Rowan drove to get her daughter, but lately the weather had been nice for the start of school. 

Serena didn’t begin classes until the next week. As such, Rowan wanted to spend some time with her daughter before then. This was mostly because Rowan was scared to let her daughter go to school without someone to watch her. At the office, she had the doctor to watch over her, but at school, she had no one. Rowan didn’t know any of the teachers at school, and she didn’t want her husband posting any agents there. 

Ever since Serena’s disappearance from her own party, the two had become highly suspicious of G-men agents. There were a small few they could trust, and even then, they were worried. It didn’t help that Aaron was already paranoid about Giovanni. He would stop at nothing from making sure his brother never got his hands on Serena ever again. 

With no proof and witnesses, the family could never press charges on anyone. 

It was a weight Serena had held over her shoulders, one that bugged her each waking moment. She couldn’t recognize any face that was shown to her except for her uncle’s. But even then, not in a sense that would place him as the perpetrator. 

She knew that her uncle was not a good man, that she should never trust him, but he had only ever been nice to her. He got her whatever she wanted and more, not that it made her like him any more than warranted, but she didn’t hate him by any means. Serena found that she wanted to understand him more than anything. How could someone so terrible be related to someone as good as her father? They were total opposites. 

“We have to go school shopping,” Rowan began speaking as they crossed a long crosswalk near the large department store, the biggest one in Celadon. “Wanna go right now?”

School. It was scary to think about it. The first year, she did half at home with her mother. Thanks to her being a professor, she was able to keep Serena on track for her education. Her school accepted it, and now she was still with her academic class. But was she ready? Probably. She loved her parents, but being homeschooled for most of the year was just too much. She missed getting lost in the sea of students, talking amongst her good friends, and even eating with them. 

Her mother wasn’t a teacher that gave busy work, so she rarely had homework that felt pointless. So maybe she was worried that she’d be close to failing her classes because of the different styles at school. Either way, she had to get out of the house. 

“Sure.” 

Anything to keep her mind busy. 

 

**_XxXxXxX_ **

“Status report.”

Fuji stared into Giovanni’s dark eyes. It had been far too long since he had flinched at the man’s voice, or shivered under his stare. Now, he gazed at Giovanni without fear. There was mostly gratitude in his gaze. Did that make him a colder person than he used to be? No, he was just tired today. He had been up scanning Mewtwo’s brain wave activity. The specimen had been growing at a steady rate, much larger than it used to be. He suspected it was now in its adult stage, in around a year as well. 

It was spectacular watching him grow. It started out quick, and now it had grown so subtly, if he weren’t mourning his daughter, Fuji may have been proud.

“I suspect it’ll wake up soon, but I advise against waking it up prematurely,” Fuji spoke in a low tone. “Its activity has been spiking recently, a sign of approaching consciousness. How’s the girl?”

“Unimportant at the moment,” Giovanni ground out before turning on his heel and stalking down the hallway. “She is of no use to us now, but I will make sure that she stays within reach!”

Fuji grimaced at his words. He should have kept his mouth shut. He  _ knew _ Giovanni wanted to test out things no one else would, and Fuji gave him the excuse. But he needed the DNA, and he got it. Now his daughter was gone, and his decision would haunt him for the remainder of his life. 

 

**_XxXxXxX_ **

“Serena Lockwood?”

“Here,” Serena muttered from her desk.

It was the first day of class at the private school in Celadon. Her friends were in another classroom, leaving her to sit alone in the middle of the room. Dressed in the green and gray themed uniform, Serena looked like everyone else. If only she felt that way, too. 

When she had awoken that morning, she had felt groggier than usual, as though she were waiting for something to happen. It felt as though her subconscious was tugging on something in the back of her head, urging her to do something. But what? She had no idea, and that irked her, frustrating her to no end.

She didn’t say a word to her parents, or else they would have left her at home; she couldn’t possibly spend another minute at the house, cramped up in her room, studying the curriculum that her mother planned out for her. Left to the darkest reaches of her mind...

“Welcome back, everyone!” the teacher crooned to the class, jerking Serena out of her thoughts and pulling her into a lecture about the expectations in her classroom. 

Before everything that had happened, Serena would be bored or dying to go home, but now that she had been away for so long, she was absorbing the experience. Her teacher, Ms. Ishihara, was perky and bright. She reminded Serena of her mother. As a professor, Serena knew that her mother was popular for making her lectures interesting and helping students out. The transition back into school would be simple.

For the remainder of the morning, her teacher slowly began their first class: history. A class Serena had no interest in, but paid attention to nonetheless as slide after slide shined on the board. Few students took notes, others whispered, and still a few just stared at the screen lost in their minds. 

Serena wrote down what she could as their teacher whizzed through the lesson. She froze in the middle of a sentence as a low whisper came from behind. Her shoulders shivered and she turned to look at the desk behind her, only to find the girl asleep with drool running down her chin. With a grimace, Serena turned back to the front, trying to focus on the slides. 

Her hands began to tremble slightly as she copied the words down about the Great War that took place in Kanto. 

_ What.. _

The whisper became louder before choking off into garbled nonsense. Outside, a breeze rattled the maple tree out front. Serena turned to watch the leaves flutter in the wind as the whisper came back. 

_ What... am I? _

Serena frowned. Where did that come from? She was a human, why would she even ask herself that question?

But as she rationalized the question, she knew that it was not coming from her or anyone in the room. This voice seemed familiar, yet didn’t. Her chest squeezed at the sound of it, sympathizing with it, wanting to answer.

Something warm slowly began to bloom within her mind. It felt like the first time she read the mind of her mother. The warmth of a mind she had known for a while. 

_ Where am I? _

It was louder now, echoing in her mind as she glanced around the room. She felt as though she was in a dream, nothing around her felt real. Not her body, or the desk, or her clothes. 

She just had to make it through one day of school, she reminded herself, planting her hands firmly on the desk and inhaling deeply. This voice will go away, she believed firmly. 

_ I am ready... _

This time the echo was stronger, making it sound as if it were said multiple times at the  _ same _ time. Serena clutched her pencil in her hand, wondering just what the voice was ready for. 

_ I am ready... to be! _

Her eyes clenched shut and she felt... nothing. 

Nothing happened to her. Her mind seemed to relax, and the dreamy feeling faded away as her mind quieted down. She glanced around the room to see if anyone was watching her, but thankfully, nothing had changed. Her teacher droned on as the students sleepily followed along. 

The rest of the day went on without a hitch, and as Serena hit her last class, she was feeling proud of herself for handling the day. Some people asked questions about what happened, but her friends fended them off for her while she continued to ignore the stares. It wasn’t that bad. She imagined that it could have been worse. 

Sitting in her seat in the middle of the room, Serena stared at the board as their teacher wrote out a math problem. She liked the work involved with math, writing everything down to get an answer, but she hated the complicated equations with letters and numbers. 

On the wall, the clock ticked down the time to leave school. Everyone was antsy, and she couldn’t help but get excited along with them. 

Then she heard garbled voices in her head, and the slight panic began to set in. Glancing down at the desk, Serena took in a quiet breath. Her father had taught her how to handle stressful situations by breathing and grounding herself. She has to focus, or something would go wrong on her first day of school. 

_ They’re outside... Where I should be... _

The voice dissipated, and she felt a sharp pain prick at her brain. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, but squeezed her eyes shut to brace herself against the heat of it. Somewhere far away, she heard her teacher ask if she was okay, but Serena lost control of the growing force in her mind. 

It was her telekinesis acting up. She could feel the force of it as the energy ejected out from her body. The kids in her class screamed as their desks slammed against one another with enough force to send some students tumbling out of their seats onto one another or the ground. A misty blue light covered the windows, causing them to crack and explode. 

There were more screams then, and Serena forced herself out of her chair. Her teacher stared at her from the floor with wide, fearful eyes. The look in her eyes hurt Serena, as if she would attack her, or even worse. She wasn’t a monster... was she?

Serena took a deep breath, feeling another onslaught of energy coming up as a garbled conversation went on in the background. She pushed against the energy crashing down upon her and sent it back towards the place it came from. A few things went flying across the room before she cut herself off from her powers. 

Her mother had taught her that trick for when she couldn’t control herself. 

_ Take a deep breath and locate the source. Everyone has a source, whether it’s their mind, their heart, their emotions, or anywhere else important to them. Somewhere in your mind, you have a switch that you have to flip to stop yourself.  _

Serena found her “switch”, and cut off the energy supply with a hard shove of her own. Her mind sealed off the flow, and she felt a pounding headache come on. 

The students rushed out of the room, crying and blubbering about their injuries or about being scared as the teacher funneled them out. Serena glanced at Ms. Ishihara and cursed herself for doing so. She looked terrified, as if she had narrowly escaped death. Being the cause of that fear terrified Serena. 

They stood there, locked in a stare down for a long moment before the bell rang, signalling in the end of the school day. Serena tore her gaze away from her teacher and bent over to grab her notebook and backpack. As she moved out into the hallway, she felt like half the student body was watching her as she headed straight to the office to call her mother. 

She never made it through her first day of school. 

Panting and feeling as though she were about to faint, Serena managed to call her mother and get the story out before collapsing in an office chair. She waited ten excruciating minutes for her mother. In that time, an ambulance appeared, followed by two police cruisers. Students with harsher injuries were rushed out while minor injuries were taken care of on the spot. Ms. Ishihara stalked out of the school and pointed to Serena through the large windows many times, looking angry and scared as they wrote down her words. 

Rowan couldn’t arrive any faster, jogging in heels into the office with her husband right behind, pausing to speak with the officers and a hysterical Ishihara. 

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Rowan rushed up to her daughter, squeezing her face between both hands. 

“No, just scared,” Serena whispered, she could feel the block she had put up weakening with each minute she sat in the office. 

Already she could hear the voices of the students and staff whirling around her mind. They all hated her, they wanted her to leave as soon as possible. They thought she was a monster.

Finally, Aaron stepped into the office, and Serena couldn’t help but begin to cry as her father, with the policemen, talked to the Dean. They moved to the office where Serena sat between her parents, sobbing as they argued that it was merely an accident. For two hours, she sat there while her parents tried to solve everything.

Her father began to raise his voice when the phone rang. Everyone stopped to stare at the phone, then at the Dean. The old man’s furious face calmed just as he reached down and picked up the phone. Aaron huffed, and Rowan reached over to pat her husband’s arm as he glared at the man. 

“Hello?” 

Serena wiped her face, watching as his grumpy glare faded to an open mouthed look of fear. Everyone in the room watched the dean’s face turn pale as he listened to whoever was on the other side of the line. Beside her, Aaron’s face hardened, and he fought the urge to rip the phone away from the old man. 

“I-I understand...” he coughed before hanging up, gathering himself. He clasped his fingers together. “I-I think we are done here.”

“What?” Aaron demanded, and Rowan gave her husband an exasperated look. Sure, it was sketchy, but their daughter was exhausted, stressed, and in serious need of help. “What do you mean we’re done here?”

“That call was to confirm a payment for the damages that Serena has done,” the dean replied in a tight voice. “I suspect she won’t be returning?”

“Hell no,” Aaron spat between clenched teeth, getting up from his seat and holding a hand out for his daughter. “Have a nice day.”

His warm hand engulfed hers and lifted her up into his embrace. She may not be a little child, but Aaron’s anger helped him lift up his daughter into his arms and carry her outside. Students watched as she passed by, most glaring, some looking scared, while others looked curious. She ducked her head, leaning against her father’s shoulder, as they rushed by. 

In and out of consciousness, she suddenly found herself within a large house with bright lights and two mysterious people as well as a young girl her age. Above her, her parents spoke in hushed tones, asking for help. 

An older man with murky green eyes came into view then, his light skinned face lined with soft wrinkles and some freckles. His pale brown hair was messy, and he looked to be wise in the eyes and scatterbrained in looks. She stared at him for a minute before realizing he was speaking to her. 

“What happened?” he asked in a hard tone. Serena frowned, sitting up in her father’s arms and regarding the man with a curious look. He saw her hesitation, and turned to the left with his arm splayed out. “Take her to the living room to have a seat.”

“Honey, it’s okay. Mr. Natsume is a friend of ours, you remember Sabrina?” Rowan spoke with her daughter in a gentle tone, gesturing to the dark haired girl standing off to the side. 

Serena followed her finger to see Sabrina watching her with her light red eyes from under dark black bangs. Their gazes locked, and the light eyed girl tilted her head, trying to understand what was going on in the older girl’s mind. Serena felt her mind push into hers, and shook her head, urging the girl out. Both of them flinched at the feeling. 

“Sabrina, stop,” Sabrina’s father advised in a gentle tone. “Her mind is volatile, you do not want to go in there blindly.” He turns back to Serena, this time with a much kinder face, and asked once more. “What happened?”

Through the muggy thoughts and pain, Serena relayed the events leading up to her energy burst as well as the incident itself. It was scary for her to think about it. Ishihara’s face blinked rapidly through her mind as she spoke. The expression would surely haunt her for a while. 

“I see... There’s an extreme amount of energy emanating from you that is not completely yours,” Sabrina’s father rubbed at the stubble on his chin, glancing between the family of three. 

“How is that possible?” Rowan frowned, clutching her daughter’s hand tight. 

Serena didn’t tell her to let go, she only watched as her father clenched and unclenched his jaw. He knew something, she was sure of it. He had an idea what was going on, but wouldn’t say it because it had to do with her disappearance. 

Mr. Natsume shook his head with a shrug. “It’s hard to say for sure, but your daughter seems to be gaining a lot of psychic energy at an alarming rate. More than her brain can handle at the moment. We’re going to have to help her focus it, guide it, so that she can absorb it at a rate she can handle.”

“What do you need to do?” Rowan spoke, having more knowledge on this than her husband. 

Serena got lost in a flurry of orders as she was taken to another room. This room smelled sweeter and was dimly lit. She heard the sound of rushing water and some ambient noise playing in the background. Her mother urged her to lie down on a soft, cozy ottoman. 

She leaned her head back to see that the ceiling was lined with windows that showed the beautiful afternoon sky filled with clouds. Her mind was put a little more at ease as her mother came into view above her head. Sabrina and her father appeared on either side of her, their eyes fixated on hers as they lifted their hands to hover above her head. 

“Close your eyes and focus on our energies,” Rowan instructed her daughter. Her mother had no special abilities herself, however, she was well versed in the community that was a part of it, and knew how to conduct processes such as these. Serena remembered showing her first signs of being psychic. Her mother immediately began to school her in her own powers, encouraging her to experiment, with safety, and to ask questions. 

Now, Serena just wanted to give it up. 

She did as told, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Sabrina’s burning light and her father’s came into view in her mind’s eye. From this vantage point, Serena could tell that Sabrina was much more powerful than her father. She latched onto them easily, and followed her mother’s orders to let them in. She felt their minds probing her own to find the onslaught of energy pouring into her. 

Their minds gathered round, and she felt as though she was being suffocated as they pressed onto the flow. It lessened and lessened until it was a steady stream of energy, less erratic and messy. The process took longer than they expected; within an hour, they had Serena under control of her growing powers, and were letting her rest.

Sabrina’s mother waited for Serena’s parents in the next room with refreshments as the families sat down to talk. Sabrina was left with the other young girl, watching her slumber and making sure there were no more sudden outbursts. Aside from the ambient noise in the other room, there was no sound between the adults. The Nastumes watched the Lockwoods squirm with discomfort before finally speaking. 

“Something has been connected to your daughter,” Mr. Natsume finally spoke. 

“What is it?” Aaron asked as Rowan fought against her tears. 

“I’m not sure, but it’s powerful, which is why she reacted the way she did in school today,” he continued on, reaching forward for his cup of tea. “Sabrina went through something similar. The best thing to do now is to focus on training her. She needs to exercise her mind, or it will all build up.”

“We’ll do that,” Aaron assured him, reaching next to him to comfort his wife. “There’s nothing you can do to stop it?”

“Nothing that ends with her coming out alive,” he spoke in a grave tone. “Whatever is connected to her, this ‘bond’ that they have, is strong.”

Aaron fought the urge to flip the table and swear. What did Giovanni  _ do _ ?

“Take her home, and let her rest.” Mr. Nastume glanced through the open door where his daughter watched over their slumbering daughter. “And pray that your daughter can survive her growing abilities.”


	5. North

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot happened last chapter and not all of it can be explained right now, so sit tight. Major changes are happening in Serena's life and she's gonna have to roll with the punches. Thanks for sticking around!

The next morning Serena woke up feeling as though yesterday’s events were a terrible nightmare cooked up before her first day of school. For a moment, she believed that notion. Maybe it  _ was _ a dream, and today was her  _ real _ chance to go to school and be normal. 

However, the faint ache of her head said otherwise. Yesterday was in fact real. 

Serena would never be normal. Maybe her parents were going to send her somewhere to fix her or to protect themselves. Her eyes burned with the sight of Mrs. Ishihara’s frightened face seared into her mind. An adult woman completely terrified of her student, when just that morning, she had been so kind to Serena. 

Laying in bed, Serena stared at the ceiling, wondering whether she should get up or not. She was dressed in sweats and a large t-shirt, everything else in her regular sized room was the same as before, from her paintings coating the walls down to her bean bag chair tossed into a corner with a pile of books atop it. It was as if she had never left homeschool. 

Maybe she should have let her mother continue teaching her.

The thought made Serena’s grip on her blanket tighten. What if she had hurt her mother somehow?  She would rather go through yesterday over and over than bring harm to her mother. 

Two soft raps on the door startled Serena from those thoughts. The door swung open a bit to reveal her mother peering in with a smile. A smile of all things. Serena expected a worried look, or even fear. Instead, Rowan entered the room as if it were any other day, striding across the carpeted floors to sit next to Serena’s sprawled body with a glass of water in hand and some pain pills in the other. 

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” Rowan spoke in a gentle tone, her voice warming Serena as she sat up. 

“Tired... and scared,” she admitted the last part after a short silence. Talking with her mother had never been a problem for her. Rowan rarely lectured Serena about her choices or mistakes. She listened and responded to treat Serena almost as an adult, and Serena liked that. 

“It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay,” Rowan passed her the water and pills. “The Nastume’s are trustworthy and excellent in handling psychic energies.”

“Is that what that guy did to me?” Serena questioned after gulping down the water and taking the pills. 

“Kind of. He slowed down the energy being funneled into your brain, now you can handle your increasing powers,” her mother explained, taking back the cup and touching her daughter’s cheek. “You’re safe now, the worst of it is over.”

“Yeah...” Serena muttered, leaning into her mother’s hand. “Why did that happen to me?”

At this, Rowan frowned, puckering her lips. She couldn’t withhold the truth from her daughter. She’d figure it out pretty quickly, telepathy or not. Instead, Rowan adjusted to pull Serena onto her lap. Her light blue eyes gazed into her daughter’s darker blue ones with patience and love as she spoke in an even tone. “We don’t know. Your father and I have our ideas, but we don’t have proof. But we also have ideas to keep you safe and, on that, we are absolutely sure about. You remember Grandma and Grandpa, right? It’s been years since we last saw them.”

“Yes!” Serena instantly perked at the news. She remembered every tale of dragons in old legends that they told her with every visit they made. It made her proud of her clan’s heritage.

“You know they live over in Blackthorn, right? Well, we will be moving to live in the house there,” Rowan stated with a controlled expression on her face. 

Beneath it all, Serena could vaguely sense the turmoil hidden beneath the sentence. Being young, she didn’t completely understand her mother’s reluctance to move back, and instantly worried if it was because of her. 

“You don’t want to go,” she stated, her upper body deflating like an untied balloon. 

“I do want to go, but only if you are okay with it. It’s a big move, and you know my standing with the rest of the clan. It’s going to be difficult for the other children to accept you because of what happened.”

“Because you fell in love with  _ Dad, _ ” Serena cooed at her mother before bursting into a fit of giggles. 

She knew that the other families in the Blackthorn Clan did not want to keep Rowan within their ranks as she had married someone that didn’t meet their standard. Serena didn’t quite understand what that meant, but she mainly adored the romantic side of it. Her parents were forbidden from marrying, but they did anyway and ran away together. 

It’s her favorite story so far. 

“Yes, and you know that it was a bad thing to do in their eyes,” Rowan grinned at her daughter. “It’s going to be tough for you.”

Serena considered the choices for merely a second before nodding her head. “I want to. Anything to get away from here.”

Anything to get away from Ishihara’s face haunting her memories.

Rowan gaugeD her daughter’s expression, searching for anything that might suggest otherwise, before releasing a small exhale. Her smile continued to shine as she nodded her head at Serena. “Okay, I’ll start packing up most of your stuff today. You need to relax and let your mind settle. Yesterday was stressful, and it needs rest.”

“Okay, Mom,” Serena sighed. 

“Here are my two favorite women in the entire world!” Aaron burst into the room then, his arms swaying excitedly and his face the complete opposite from the day before. 

Serena’s face lit up and she greeted her father with a surprised yelp. “Dad!” 

“Hey, Sunshine,” he stepped over and gathered the two of them in his arms to kiss both their heads. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” Serena leaned on her father’s chest and sighed. She always felt safe with him around. 

“That’s good, you were so brave yesterday, calling your mother and waiting for her in the office. You did great,” he patted her head and set her on the edge of her bed. The both of them got up and glanced at each other before grinning down at Serena. She shifted under their gazes but stared at them questioningly. Aaron clapped his hands before speaking, a wide grin still plastered on his face. “So, your mother and I talked, and we talked with Dr. Sato, and we came to this agreement. You need something around to keep you happy, safe, and even warm. But you’re young, so it has to be small too.”

“Okay?” Serena glanced between the two of them. She was used to their antics but this time was strange.

“So, your father and I pulled some strings and got you... a pokemon,” Rowan announced with her own grin growing.

“What?” Serena squeaked out, her heart racing with excitement. “A real one?”

Her parents burst into laughter, her father nodding at his daughter happily. “Yes, a real one. I have him with me right now.”

“Where!?” Serena leaped off the bed, wrapping her arms around his waist to find the pokeball on his belt. 

Aaron laughed again, picking her up and plopping her back onto the bed. He knelt down beside her and pulled out a brand new, shining pokeball. It was tiny in his hand as he passed it to her. He pushed the button and it grew to its larger size. Serena held it between both hands to keep it balanced in her grip. 

“Remember how to open it? Like I showed you,” he urged her. 

Rowan and Aaron looked on as their daughter pressed her right ring finger to the white button on the center of the pokeball. Immediately, the ball popped open, and a white light splashed out onto the floor in front of her. It took on a small roundish looking form before the white dissipated to reveal a Cyndaquil. 

“Aww, he’s so cute!” Serena dropped the pokeball on the bed and knelt on the ground next to the small fire type. “Where did you get him?”

“I called a friend,” Aaron shrugged, sitting on the ground, his back against her bed to watch the two interact. “He’s all yours, but I will train him with the dragon types so that he can get used to them.”

“They’ll be mean to him, he’s only a baby!” Serena defended the pokemon. 

The Cyndaquil glanced up and sniffed at her curiously. His small eyes remained closed as he continued to investigate his new owner. She giggled as his delicate nose tickled her arms as he did a thorough sweep of her. Finally, Cyndaquil settled down in front of her, and she reached out to pet him. He allowed it, and even cooed as she scratched his chin and behind his ears. 

“He’s going to grow older, and he’s going to have to toughen up,” Aaron chuckled, leaning forward to point at the four heat spots on his back. “Don’t touch these areas when he’s riled up, they’ll burn you. When he’s relaxed, it’s fine, they won’t set anything on fire. Just when he’s scared, angry or stressed in anyway.”

“Okay, okay,” Serena replied coaxing Cyndaquil to sit on her lap. The pokemon easily settled down on her legs and curled up with his face in her stomach. She let out a giddy giggle as he released a sigh. 

“Are you going to give him a nickname?” Rowan watched her daughter with a smile. 

Serena glanced between her parents for a moment. This Cyndaquil was going to be her friend, her partner for who knew how long. In her mind, she hoped for forever. His name would also only get longer. His evolution, Typhlosion, would be larger than he was then, and it would be too much of a mouthful to yell in battle. But then again, he would be a Typhlosion, and pokemon responded just the same to their species name rather than nicknames, didn’t they?

She hadn’t covered classes that dealt with caring for pokemon yet, so she didn’t know for sure. What if he grew out of it? She couldn’t call him something silly like Fluffy, because what if he didn’t stay fluffy? It wouldn’t make sense. No, she’d have to name him something that she could see him as whether or not he stayed as a Cyndaquil.

After a long moment, Serena stood to her full height, not too tall for a nine year old, with Cyndaquil in her arms. She looked determined as she nodded to herself, regarding her parents with a proud smile. 

“I’ll name him Ty.”

 

**_XxXxXxX_ **

A week or so after she got her pokemon, Serena was packed up, and all preparations for the move had been set into motion. Her parents had her things and their things sent ahead of time, and all their furniture would be staying, for the new house would have some. Serena took Ty around the apartment, telling him stories that may have happened in that specific area. 

The morning of departure, she stood in the doorway, Ty snuggled in her arms, while watching her parents get some last minute things done. Her heart pounded in her chest. This was the first time Serena had had to deal with a move like this. The last time, she was too young to remember when they left the clan to live in Celadon. It was the only city she had come to know as home. Would Blackthorn be good enough to replace it?

“Cynda?” Cyndaquil squeaked, nudging Serena’s chest with his long nose. 

“It’s nothing, I’m just...nervous,” she reassured him, cradling him closer to share in his warmth. 

The pokemon let out a small squeal before burrowing into her stomach excitedly. Clearly, he was ready for this new adventure. Serena wondered if he even understood what was going on and decided to brush it off. She should be acting just like him, this was a new start in a new place where no one would know about what she did. 

At that thought, panic struck Serena. 

“Mom!” she rushed into the kitchen to see her parents going over some papers. 

Rowan glanced up and rushed over to her daughter, her eyes searching for any injuries she may have had. “What’s wrong honey?”

“Mom, am I going to public school in Blackthorn? I don’t think I should, what if I hurt someone? What if I can’t be around people? I’m scared!” Serena babbled and admitted the last part without meaning to. Her face became hot with embarrassment, and she dropped her chin to her chest. Cyndaquil reached his tiny paw upwards to try and comfort his trainer.

“Oh, honey,” Rowan clicked her tongue and cupped her daughter’s face in her hand, pulling her head up to look into her eyes. “You are not going to hurt anybody. Remember those exercises we’ve been doing? Those help keep your abilities under control, and you’re so good at it! I promise you’ll be safe.”

“How can you be sure? You don’t even know what’s wrong with me,” Serena blubbered, tears burning her eyes. She started out excited for the move, but now that it was actually happening, all the things she had done crashed down on her like a tidal wave. 

Rowan glanced back at her husband, asking him to support her as she pulled her daughter in for a hug. “Shhh, honey, it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with you, you are powerful and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“She’s right, Rena,” Aaron patted his daughter’s head and tapped her chin. “The kids you meet, some of them anyway, will be like you. Remember, you get your powers from your mother’s side, and she passed it from the clan. Even if you weren’t different, it doesn’t matter, because your abilities only define a  _ part _ of who you are, and you are one great girl.”

Aaron pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her tears as she huffed and puffed. In her arms, Ty rubbed his face into her body, humming with comfort and care. Their words were enough to calm her, but she tucked her fears away as she accepted the cloth and dabbed at the last of her tears. Her parents kissed her temples before gathering the last of their things. 

“Oh, and one more thing,” Aaron paused in the doorway. “Tomorrow, I’m meeting up with a good friend of mine, a really good friend of mine. He’s going to bring his son and niece along so you’ll have friends. How does that sound, huh?”

Serena considered it, shifting on her feet. She knew it would make it easier, but what if they didn’t like her? She was different, and they’re going to know, she was sure of it. But it was a new place, and her parents were doing something big for her. She didn’t want to waste it. If she was going to go through with this decision, she was going to have to try for her parents’ sake.

A frown creased her forehead, who was this person and why hadn’t she met them? She couldn’t remember if her father had ever mentioned him. If she agreed, she also would get to solve this mystery of this mysterious “good friend” of her father’s.

With a tentative nod, she accepted the invitation. He grinned and patted her back, reassuring her that it would be okay. 

Once outside of their condo, he released his Salamence for the family to pile onto and hitch a ride to Johto. With no direct system taking them from Kanto to Johto, this was the easiest way. Serena didn’t mind flying, but it would be a few hours of being in the sky on their way over and then more hours of work to get settled in. 

Ty got sucked back into his pokeball for the ride while Serena squeezed in between her parents’ bodies on the large dragon type. The lift into the sky was the hardest part. Serena kept strong against the pressure building against her, pressing her into the hard, scaly back of the pokemon beneath her. Once they reached a high enough elevation, the city looked much smaller below them as Salamence began moving forward.

Being in the sky didn’t faze Serena as much as it did the first time her father took her for a ride. She just wished the wind wasn’t so cold, or blew in her face so much as they dipped or rose through the air. 

They landed in Blackthorn during the late afternoon, its tall, dark colored houses rising up through the uneven land of the dragon clan city. Serena always compared Blackthorn to a medieval place with stone houses, tall gates, and dirt roads. It wasn’t too far off, as the city was placed within a mountainous area. 

Upon arrival, Rowan’s grandparents welcomed their daughter with open arms and bright smiles. As Aaron and Serena walked up, however, those feelings toned down until Rowan cleared her throat and shot her parents a scathing look that got them excited to see their granddaughter. Serena accepted their hugs, oblivious to the fact that, to the clan, she was the product of a broken rule, and therefore, an outcast as well. Aaron greeted the two with a bow and a head nod, custom when meeting two ranking officials within the clan. 

“Good to see you are well, Kai. You too, Amaya,” Aaron spoke to them in a warm tone and with a fake smile. 

“Glad to see you are taking care of our daughter,” Kai returned with squinting eyes. His raspy voice gave no hint of warmth, as if he expected the opposite of Aaron. Serena heard it and flinched away from her grandfather.

“This needs to stop,” Rowan stepped past her parents and gathered her daughter in her arms. “My  _ husband, daughter, _ and I will be living here within the clan just like you wanted all those years ago. Now that you have it, you must accept them.”

Amaya stepped in before Kai could speak any more harsh words, her face was open as she regarded the newcomers. Rowan always knew she could count on her mother to be the voice of reason despite her opposing stance in her life choices. “Of course, dear. This is all just so new. We have yet to make adjustments.”

“I wanna go home,” Serena whispered in a shaky voice, clutching to her mother’s clothes as if she might fall.

Rowan shot her parents a heated look before smoothing her daughter’s hair and bending over to kiss the top of her head. “Don’t worry, sweetie. It’ll get better.”

“Your mother is right,” Amaya animated so suddenly, Rowan and Aaron forgot for just a moment that there was any problem mere seconds ago. The older woman stepped forward, her dark blue dress sweeping across the ground as she held out a hand for Serena. “Your home is right here, let me show you.”

Serena’s parents held their breaths as they watched their daughter contemplate taking her grandmother’s hand. The cold air held still as the young girl weighed her options. Once again, thinking of her parents, Serena swallowed her fear and raised her smaller hand into her grandmother’s aged one. 

Her grip was surprisingly tight, and it pulled Serena past the metal gate and up the winding path to the front of the house. 

Much like the other houses, their house was a dark coal gray along the outer shell with a stone front porch. It looked tough and intimidating to Serena as they approached. What she did like were the windows. There were four large windows on the front, two beside the entryway, and two above it. Inside the lights were on, and in the bottom two windows, golden light seeped out and shone on the front porch. She felt welcomed as they made it up the stone steps and to the dark front door. 

Amaya allowed Serena to push open the door to reveal a tall foyer, open to the floors above. To her left sat a full living room with new furniture, waiting to be decorated by her and her mother. To her right sat a dining room, a long, elegant black table sat in the middle flanked by six tall chairs. Along the walls sat expensive and shiny looking pottery with ancient designs and faded colors. 

“Wow, it’s so big!” Serena twisted around as she stepped further into the foyer, her shoes squeaked against the marble floors as she approached the winding staircase to the second floor. “It’s so bright, too.”

Contrary to the outside color scheme, the walls within were some form of cream and light browns. With the lights on, everything had a dreamy golden glow to it. Serena felt as though this all were a dream, that it was too good to be true, but it was real, and she didn’t know how to feel about that. 

“It’s yours now,” Amaya beamed at her granddaughter. “This clan is your home now. It’s up to you to do your best.”

“I will,” Serena promised. She wasn’t sure what she had to do her best for, but if it would make the fighting stop, then so be it. 

She would do anything to keep her family happy, even if that meant leaving them. 


	6. Call to Arms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after that last disaster, Serena has a chance to make things right again. Layla will have to be put on hold until Serena is through her journey, so bear with me on that. That will be in a few chapters, so I'll slowly be starting up Layla's stuff. Serena and Layla are pretty intertwined. But first, Serena, enjoy!

Serena woke up the next morning feeling content. There was no deep breath of fresh morning air or a glowing smile because moving had solved all of her problems. 

Instead, she lifted the blanket up to her chin and stared at her white ceiling as morning light poured into the room from the window at the end of her bed. This room was much bigger than her old one, her stuff occupying only a small corner of it. The white walls had yet to be painted, and Serena wasn’t sure what color to make them. Despite the warm welcome from her grandmother the day before, Serena wasn’t sure she would be calling this place home for long. 

She flipped over in her large bed and stared at the clock on her nightstand. Beside it sat a picture of her and her parents at a school picnic a few years ago. The three of them looked happy, and that in turn brought an unconscious smile to her lips. Her blue eyes flickered over to the clock as it read fifteen to noon. Sitting up, she stretched out her arms and slid out of bed, deciding it was best to get ready for the day. 

A few boxes remained unopened from the day before, and now that she had time on her hands, Serena planned on mapping out her room. Anything to make it warmer rather than cold and cramped.

Unlike her room before, this one had a bathroom connected to it, and for that, Serena was grateful. She managed to get ready in half the time it took in their old home. Dressed in blue jeans and a sweatshirt, Serena made her way down the staircase. Towards the end, she pretended she was a long lost princess as it twisted into a half spiral, placing her in the foyer and living room. 

She turned around at the smell of breakfast and followed her nose into the kitchen. 

“Morning!” Rowan was quick to greet her daughter with a bright smile. Dressed in casual clothes, Rowan already looked well adjusted to their new home, and it intimidated Serena just a bit. “Come, sit down, I’ll get you something to eat.”

Serena skipped over to the fridge for some juice before doing as told and taking a seat next to her father. 

He grinned and ruffled her hair. “You ready to make some friends today?”

She had forgotten. Her father was meeting with his ‘old friend’ today, and she had agreed to join him. Apparently, he was going to bring his kids, and they were supposed to become as good as friends as they were. That was more intimidation tossed onto her plate. 

“I guess,” she shifted in her seat, watching as her mother dumped some hashbrowns, eggs, and a few slices of meat onto a plate. 

“It’s going to be okay, sweetie,” she reassured her daughter, sliding the plate in front of her. “If you’re nervous, you don’t have to go.”

“I want to,” Serena urged. “I’m just scared they’ll be scared of me.”

Aaron set down the newspaper he was reading and faced his daughter. “I promise that they won’t fear you. These two are different than those kids at the last school. My friend is different, and someone you can trust.”

Serena swallowed hard and nodded. “I’ll try my best.”

“It’s okay,” he tapped her chin. “You’re safe here and with them. You’re not gonna fail anything. Now eat up, we have fifteen minutes!”

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Blackthorn was located in the northern region of Johto, making it much colder than it was in Celadon. Despite it being cold and near the mountains, it was still well developed with paved roads and tall buildings, the tallest being the clocktower located in the center of town. The outskirts of the town were marked by thick forests and rocky mountains. City laws did not allow kids without pokemon or under 17 from leaving after curfew. 

The sun shone behind large fluffy clouds, providing little warmth on that chilly day. Serena pulled her sweater tighter against her skin and clung to her father’s arm as they walked down the main path from their house to the sidewalk. The two headed down the street and took a right towards a park Serena had spotted from their flight yesterday. It was small but spacious enough for some equipment and a large fountain for pokemon. 

Aaron walked his daughter along the path when he spotted Wesley standing across the way with two kids at his side. Serena saw who her father was waving at and pauses.

“Do you want to go home?” Aaron didn’t miss a beat.

She glanced up at him and shook her head. “I’m just... nervous.”

He chuckled and squeezed her arm wrapped around his. “It’s okay.”

She took a deep breath and followed her father across the way, her eyes glued to the tall man waving at them. He was built a lot like her own father, but with more noticeable muscle. His dark brown hair was closely cropped, but a bit on the shaggy side. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a black sweater.

On either side of him stood two kids, one girl with light blue hair pulled back into a braid with bright blue eyes and one boy with red hair and golden eyes. They reminded Serena of her mother, their features pretty in their rarity and intimidating as it was what separated her from them. 

The two kids exchanged glances and some words before approaching. Serena was tempted to peek into their minds to see what it was, but that wouldn’t be fair. Maybe they were reassuring themselves?

“Aaron!” Wesley greeted in a bright voice. It made Serena pause for a moment, it was as if his emotions were infused with his tone. He was happy to see his friend and welcoming as he stepped forward to embrace him. “It’s been too long.”

“I agree,” Aaron laughed, patting Wesley on the back before greeting the kids next to Wesley. He made sure to stay close to Serena as he stepped in front of her and patted on the boy’s head first. Then he embraced the both of them. “Both of you have gotten so big! How old are you now? 7? 8?”

“I’m 10!” the boy answered with a pout. 

“I’m 9,” the girl spoke with the same motion. 

“Jeez, I am getting old,” Aaron chuckled before stepping aside to introduce his daughter. “This is Serena. Serena, this is Lance, Wesley’s son, and his niece, Clair.”

“H-hello,” Serena greeted them with a small wave. 

The two didn’t move, which prompted Wesley to take charge. He reached forward and took her small hand in his larger one. She felt the calluses and scars on his hand and became intrigued. She knew her father had a few marks of his own, but this man was born into this clan. These were marks of a Dragon Tamer. Up close, she could see a large scar on his cheek, pink and jagged. She was amazed by it, but managed to stare into his golden brown eyes as he grinned. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Serena,” he spoke in a soothing tone. 

She couldn’t help but smile and shake his hand. “You too, uh...”

“You can call me Wesley,” he winked before standing up to his full height and patting the two beside him on the heads. “The adults need to talk, you three go play and be careful.”

The two men scampered off for a park bench, leaving the kids to stand in the middle of the path. One gauged them as they gauged her while standing close together.

Serena put her hands behind her back and dropped her gaze to the ground. What was she supposed to say? 

“Do you like to swing?” Lance spoke up and Serena looked up at him, wondering if he was really talking to her. He jerked his thumb behind him. “There’s a few down this hill, and they’re all free.”

“Sure,” Serena spoke after a pause and followed the two as they walked a few feet ahead of her. She stole a quick glance back at her father, he sent her a thumbs up and a smile, encouraging her to continue trying, before turning back at something Wesley said. 

She heaved a quiet sigh and caught up to the two as they seemed to whisper more. They stopped once she got close, but it was obvious they were talking about her. 

Clair stepped forward and, despite Lance trying to get her to stop, put her hands on her hips and asked, “So, did you, like, kill a kid or something?”

Lance smacked his face and groaned, looking apologetic at Serena but also curious. The two were caught off guard when Serena let out a few giggles. A warm feeling built in her stomach before she simmered down and coughed the last few giggles out. She wasn’t sure why she laughed, her killing a kid could have happened. Bad timing would have allowed that as they were working with scissors an hour before her outburst... 

But realizing that  _ that _ ’s the reason why they were nervous about meeting her, she wondered what Wesley told them before they came out here to meet. 

“Clair...”

“What? Might as well ask now,” Clair defended herself to her cousin. She crossed her arms and gazed at Serena, her eyes looking cold, but the darker haired girl wasn’t scared. She decided she liked Clair. Being up front to avoid any complications was something Serena could get used to. 

“No, I didn’t kill a kid,” she answered.

“We were told something bad happened and, as long as it wasn’t murder, I don’t care. Just don’t hurt me,” Clair stated as if it were her life motto. 

“Clair!” Lance glared at his cousin before sighing. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Serena chuckled and held out a hand to Clair, an action that took her by surprise. “I don’t intend to hurt anyone, I promise.”

Clair glanced at her hand before taking it in her own strong grip. “Good. Now, only two swings are left!”

Serena almost fell on her face as Clair dragged her over to the swings, leaving behind Lance who called after them, and tossed her onto one of the rubber seats. The two shared a laugh as Lance came up too late as a mother pushed her smaller child on the last of the three. 

“That’s unfair, I was at least nice to you,” Lance crossed his arms and tried to pout at Serena, but he enjoyed the joke and thought it was nice of his cousin to reach out first to the new girl. 

“Nice guys finish last,” Serena chuckled. 

This surprised Lance enough for him to let out a laugh and decide to push them both while they swung. Their laughter floated upwards towards the park bench where the two adults sat and muttered about darker things. This was business meeting for them, not a fun day in the park. 

“Bastard, how could he do that to his own niece?” Wesley grimaced at the details Aaron had left out in emails and phone conversations. He glanced down the way at Clair, the thought of  putting her through that makes him sick. “I’m glad she survived.”

“Me too,” Aaron replied. “He’s crossed a line, and now I  _ have  _ to get him back. I don’t know what he’s doing or what he has planned. We moved back here to protect her because that can’t happen again.”

“It won’t,” Wesley promised him. “But getting him back is going to be difficult, he’s got eyes and ears  _ everywhere, _ and we can’t out any of them without some serious repercussions. Getting evidence on these guys is going to be tough.”

“I know, my brother always knew how to bribe those around him into doing anything he wanted,” Aaron spoke in a gruff tone. His eyes grew darker as he regarded Wesley. “I’m serious about this, that’s why I moved back. I needed to ensure Serena’s safety so that I can focus on getting rid of dirty cops. Our children don’t need to grow up in this kind of world.”

Wesley nodded, but sighed in disappointment as their gazes carried them to their children playing on the swings. “I don’t think it’ll be gone that fast. They got their headstart from Boss, and she was intelligent. Ruthless, but intelligent.”

“I agree,” Aaron stated in a flat tone. None of the memories he owned with his mother were good ones. He’d rather forget them all, but they’re what forged him into the man he is today. “I’m not proud of it, but my family has its roots in hard and thorough work. Team Rocket won’t go down without a fight.”

“So it’s a good thing you’re on our side,” Wesley grinned. “We’re an even match.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Aaron cracked a smile. “My brother was always one step ahead of me when we were kids.”

“That’s why you have me,” his friend winked. “We’ve been doing good so far, and it’ll get better. We just have to keep our circle small and keep changing our codes. We won’t allow anyone to break in and see what info we’ve gathered.”

“Right,” Aaron sighed and watched his daughter smile at Clair. “Thanks for bringing them. Serena’s been lonely, aside from the pokemon I got her.”

“Of course, that’s what friends are for,” Wesley leaned back and glanced at the kids. “Lance and Clair are close, but I asked them to give Serena a chance. She’ll be safe with them, and here in Blackthorn. The other families have been whispering, and there have been some arguments at the meetings, but the Elders agreed that it’s best you guys are here and so the others have quieted down. It’ll be tough for her to get through school, but, again, Lance and Clair will keep an eye on her.”

“I owe you for this. I understand the risk you’re taking associating with us after what Rowan and I did.”

“Love never hurt anybody.”

The two shared a small laugh and enjoyed the innocence of youth as their kids ran around the swings playing tag. It seemed the two had accepted Serena into their circle as they called her name, encouraging her to chase the other one. The smile on her face was as big as the day she got Cyndaquil, or the first night she had dinner with her parents when she got home. It was enough to remind Aaron that the only reason he was going to deal with the shit the clan will give him, the name calling, the glares, and the backhanded comments, was because of her. If Serena could survive his brother’s torment, he could survive the ridicule of the Blackthorn Clan until she was older. 

Aaron and Wesley discussed a few more things for work, the investigations for recent crimes, and the ‘mysterious’ disappearance of fund raising money. The list was long and they were getting tired of it, but it was only the start of a long war. Near the end, the kids come running back, tired and hungry.

“Okay, we’re done,” Wesley grinned at the three as they huffed and puffed. Lance and Clair looked to be covered in dirt while Serena’s eyes shone with excitement. “Were you two wrestling again?”

“She started it,” Lance blurted out first. 

Clair shrugged, expecting him to tattle. “He made Serena feel bad for taking the swing, so I wrestled him to make her feel better.”

“Oh, I see,” Wesley nodded in understanding. “How about some lunch after rough housing?”

“Is Serena coming?” Lance questioned, Clair nodded her head at Wesley, trying to bribe him into doing the same. 

“We have unpacking to do,” Aaron answered as Serena neither nodded nor shook her head, meaning she was indifferent to the outcome. “Once we’re completely settled in, we’ll have a dinner to celebrate.”

The two nodded eagerly before saying their goodbyes to Serena. Aaron and Wesley waved before heading in opposite directions. Beside Aaron, Serena had a little bounce to her steps as she grinned at their surroundings. The tight knot in his stomach from worry and nerves melted away, and he pulled his daughter close. 

“Did you have fun today?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you read any minds today?”

“Nope.”

“Good girl,” he kissed the top of her head. “Are you excited to see them again?”

Serena paused to consider as they turned on the street for their house. She took a deep breath and smiled up at her father. “Yes.”

And for the first time in a while, she didn’t feel pressured to say it for anyone besides herself. 


	7. You Are Enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

Here it is. Try number two. 

Wasn’t the saying, “third time’s the charm”? Serena doesn’t want there to be a third time. A new school with new people is scary enough already. There is an upside though. Her mother will be nearby. She got a job teaching history at the school, so she’ll be much closer. 

But again: new school, new people. 

Clair and Lance will be there, but Serena still feels awkward around them. They’re so close, she feels as if she’s breaking into something by hanging out with them. Or worse, what if she loses control again and hurts them  _ and _ her mom? She’ll be all alone, as she should be.

Every day after moving in, her mother worked with her meditating and practicing until it was time to go in for school. Hours were spent sitting up straight, breathing slowly and concentrating on control. Serena is powerful, that much she recognizes, and each day she’s getting stronger. 

It’s been awhile since she’s heard the voice, but her dreams are distorted and confusing. 

Things are already bad enough, voice or no voice. Her back is throbbing, and she can’t think straight. Her scars line her spine and hit to the base of her neck, disrupting any kind of movement she makes. Taking deep breaths, she peels off her shirt and tries to peer at them from the mirror in her bathroom. 

Her eyes bulge as she sees the blotchy red marks along her back. Tears brim her eyes as she covers her front and runs out of the room and down the hallway to her parent’s bedroom. 

“Mom!” she hits the door and struggles turning the handle in her fright. 

“What’s wrong?” Rowan pulls the door open dressed and ready to teach. Her eyes widen at the sight of her hysterical daughter. “Come here.” Serena almost collapses into her mother’s arms while blubbering about her back. Her father comes up then and lifts her up to place her face down on their bed. “Go get the cream. Serena, it’s going to be okay.”

Serena turns her face to the side and watches her father leave the room to grab the medicine the doctor gave them when she left the hospital a year ago. It’s been so long since her scars have hurt, they haven’t had to use it in months. She’s glad that her mother keeps track of important things long past their intended use.

“What does it feel like?” Rowan questions as she steps into her own bathroom to wet a rag. “Do they burn?”

“No, but they feel warm. I feel like I’m being stung a thousand times by a Beedrill,” Serena explains.

“It’s going to be okay,” her mother repeats once more before dabbing her scars with the softest touches.

Serena tenses and relaxes with each touch. The cool water soothes the warmth, but the initial touch intensifies the throbbing pain. Her father comes back moments later carrying the tube of soothing cream. He hands it to her mother and takes a seat next to her on the bed. 

“Feel better?” he questions with a raised brow. 

“A little,” she mumbles in reply and then hisses when Rowan presses her fingers to the marks. 

“I’m sorry, baby, just a little more.”

Aaron smoothes his daughter’s clenched fist as Rowan finishes up rubbing the cream all over her back. Neither of them look happy at the jagged scars, but keep neutral faces for Serena. Once she’s finished, Rowan returns to getting ready as the cream dries.

“I still have to go to school?” she turns her head to stare at her parents with disbelief. 

“Sorry, honey. But the pain is going away, right?” Rowan glances back from her vanity across the room. 

Serena hates to admit it, but the cream always worked. It masked the pain and cooled her back down. With a grumble, she presses her shirt to her chest and slides off the bed. Her feet drag on the floor as she crosses the room and opens the door. 

“Serena, it will be okay!” Rowan calls after her, a hint of laughter in her voice. 

Back in her bathroom, Serena glares at her back. The pain is always temporary and never has lasting effects on her. Though there are times when they will randomly act up as if in response to something before cooling off again. It’s around those times that she usually loses control and something goes flying across the room, or she hears a few minds from down the block. 

“Stupid scars, do _ not _ ruin my first of school. Or any other day, for that matter!” she jabs a finger at them in the mirror before getting ready. She’s downstairs in twenty minutes, hanging out with Ty and eating breakfast while she waits for her mother. Her mind blanks out. Thinking of school is just too much for her. 

“Ready?” Rowan beams at Serena as she enters the kitchen. She’s dressed up for class looking no different than she did as a professor in a university. She watches her daughter smooth Ty’s head instead of answering. “Honey, you can’t bring him. Besides, you’ll be just fine.”

“Okay,” Serena sighs, planting a kiss on Ty’s head. “Have fun.”

“Ah, yes,” Aaron slinks into the kitchen, his hands rubbing together. “He’s gotten big enough for training, so we  _ will _ have fun!”

Ty whimpers and leaps into Serena’s arms. She catches him and glares at her father. “Stop it!” 

He laughs and opens his hands for the pokemon. “I’m sorry, we’ll go easy today. Have a good day at school.”

“Is that a joke?” Serena gripes, straightening the scarf around her neck. 

“You’ll be fine, we promise,” Rowan says, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Let’s go.”

“Bye, my girls!” 

The school is about a five-minute walk from their home. Many of the other kids have already started their walk over. Since it’s her first day, Rowan suggested Serena dress up. But considering her experience with first days, Serena slipped on a black long sleeved shirt, a bright blue scarf, dark jeans and black boots. The scarf is for her upper back and part of her neck. Her scars are slightly visible, and after this morning’s scare, she doesn’t want even an inch to show. 

Blackthorn’s school is large enough to house all the grades. There’s a main building and a two others set in a diagonal from it.  The buildings are old, made of brick, and held up by pillars depicting ancient serpent dragons mostly faded by years of wear. The front grounds are large with fountains, tall blackthorn trees, and other shrubs for decoration. There are battle grounds behind it where the much older kids learn about dragon types and get their hands-on experience there. 

Many kids are running around playing with their friends before the first bell, their laughter floating all over the courtyard as Serena trudges through next to her mother. 

“Let’s get you checked in, and then I have to head to the teacher’s lounge,” her mother leads her to the front office. 

Inside the building, the floors were marble and the walls were white. Everything was clean and shiny as it always is the first month of school. Serena could sense that the building was much larger than she originally guessed. She wasn’t sure how, but her mind assured her it was true. 

She trembles as her mother opens the glass door to the office and enters with a work smile plastered to her face. 

“Hello, I’m here to check in myself and my daughter,” she speaks in a warm tone to the office workers. 

They greet the two as if they were long time friends and gather the appropriate papers for them to sign. Serena gets through it fast enough and waits as her mother finishes up talking with the other woman. Outside the office, a few kids run by, laughing and calling each other’s names as they go, Serena watches them with a faint ache in her chest. 

“Let’s go,” Rowan mutters under her breath, ushering her daughter from the office with haste. They make it back outside where Rowan takes a right and leads Serena to another door. Once there, she stops and turns around. She lays two hands on Serena’s shoulders, her eyes looking serious as she speaks. “Listen to me. There are going to be kids that don't want to talk to you, some of them will be outright mean to you, but you must ignore them. I’m sorry that you have to endure this, honey. Until certain things happen between your father, the Elders, and myself, this is how it will have to be. Keep your head up, and don’t let any of them be mean to you.”

“O-okay?” Serena frowns, she’s heard this talk before, but she hadn’t ever taken it seriously. Now, in the moment she had been warned about, it seems too weird. 

Rowan offers a bitter smile before kissing her forehead. “Lance and Clair should be here any second... Oh, look! They’re coming in.”

Serena whips her head around to see the two cousins stepping into the courtyard, her heart leaps up for just a second. Behind her, her mother wishes her luck and disappears into the building. 

Left to fend for herself, Serena makes her way towards the two she knows will accept her regardless of her parent’s past. As she approaches, a sudden swarm of students rush up to the two, many of them greeting them like old friends with hugs and punches to the shoulder. Her heart runs cold, and she nearly trips as she reaches the gate. Remembering her mother’s words, she continues her approach and clears her throat. 

The crowd of kids calm down and turn to her, and that’s when she realizes her mother was right. Their faces go from elation to something akin to hatred in Serena’s eyes. Not all of them. Some question who she is, but the older ones, those that know Lance and are around his age, glare at her. 

“What do  _ you _ want?” one of them sneers.

“Hey, watch it!” Clair snaps at the older boy, her eyes turning to ice. “That’s my  _ friend _ .”

The kid starts at the news and glances between the two of them. A murmur runs through the crowd. 

Serena feels something clutch her throat as she watches these kids judge her based on something she doesn’t understand. Coming to live in the clan meant doing things to make the clan look good, doing things so that the families in the clan could have a good name for the sake of saying so. She doesn’t understand that it meant you were judged without being present or well known. 

She hates this. She wants to go home or better, to disappear. These kids don’t know her, and they already don’t like her. What if they found out what she could do? Something would happen then, and she can’t let it get to that. 

Clair steps forward and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Let me show you around the school and the classrooms. I know we’re in the same class.”

“Are you sure?” Serena whispers as the other kids begin to mumble again. 

“Who cares about them? I’m not going to blindly follow orders like  _ some _ people,” she returns some glares before turning away and leading Serena inside. “Lance, you coming?”

Serena doesn’t look back to see if he would, or to see him debate leaving his friends for her. Clair is taking a tremendous step, one that could cost her friends. Would he do the same?

“Wait up!”

Serena’s eyes widen, and she holds back tears as Lance comes up on her left, hands shoved into his pockets and a goofy smile on his face. He and Clair share the grin before becoming tour guides within the building. Unable to believe the sudden upturn in her day, Serena forms a goofy grin of her own as she finds herself looking forward to the school year. 

She is shown the east wing of the school which were for elementary kids and where she, Lance and Clair would spend their school year until they moved along the rest of the building like the older kids. Her mother would teach two fifth grade classes before doing one class for seniors and be the administrator for a test everyone in this school would take: the Dragon Test. 

Serena doesn’t know what it entails, but she knows that the admin had to be a strong tamer to administer the test. 

The first bell reverberates around the school, startling Serena from Clair’s explanation of the lunchroom. Kids begin rushing in from all over, heading towards their lockers and their classrooms. Serena tries to keep up with the two as they lead her back the way they came towards their lockers. She nearly hits the floor as she’s shoved by students, jarring laughter hits her ears and she grimaces. 

“Don’t worry about them,” Clair pulls her to her feet and keeps hold of her hand. “Let’s go!”

The two wave off Lance as he heads to his classroom before entering their own. 

Their teacher, Miss Aiko, was cheery and excited to see Serena. She wasn’t sure if it was an act or not, but she returned the kindness either way. Clair took a spot next to Serena’s desk near the front of the room. Classes began fast and Serena tried to pay attention, but she was worried. The entire day was tense for her, she barely ate food at lunch and didn’t swing with Clair on the playground. Neither cousin pried nor did they draw attention to it, though Serena knew they were dying to know. Instead they comforted her.

But as they day draws towards the end, Serena can’t help but stare at the clock and take deep, deliberate breaths. 

“Are you okay?” Clair whispers as Aiko drones at the front of the classroom. 

Serena hesitates for just a moment, but then realizes the amount of care Clair has shown her today. Their friendship is new and budding. They’ve met only once before, but something has drawn them together. It’s a feeling Serena thinks she’s felt before but isn’t sure. It’s addicting with its warmth and security. If the two cousins could stick their neck out against their clan for her, she can reveal something back. 

“We moved here because something bad happened on my first day of school at my old school,” she murmurs back. “I’m scared it will happen again.”

“We have five minutes left,” Clair assures her. 

“It happened with two minutes left.”

Clair tilts her head, wondering just what happened in two minutes that got Serena kicked out of school and put here. “Is that why you’ve been so worried all day?”

“Yes,” she nods in reply, watching the clock tick once more. 

Unsure of a way to comfort her friend, Clair scoots her desk a bit closer and leans in. “Well, if anything happens, I’ll be right here, okay?”

If anything happens, she’d be the first to fly across the room, Serena thinks to herself. However, the gesture is kind and Serena is grateful. For the last four minutes of class, Serena glances more at the clock and less at the notes on the board. The scars on her back itch as sweat rolls down her neck from her scarf, but she refuses to remove it. When the final bell rings, Serena relaxes in her chair and beams at Clair. 

She made it through her first day of school, and she wasn’t alone.


	8. Heal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

_ “Again.” _

_ The voice was sharp and a little distorted as it issued the order. Serena felt a strong compulsion to follow it. Though she didn’t want to, she did. She saw her arm lift up and glow blue before something across the room from her went flying. Though she felt empowered by being able to do so, she couldn’t help but mourn something. Why is she doing this? What...was... her purpose? _

  


Serena wakes up in a cold sweat, head pounding and scars tingling. She’s hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past few months, but there’s nothing she can really do to make it better. Her dreams are like strange scenes pulled from movies her parents forbid her from watching until she’s older. Next to her, Ty stirs from his deep sleep and pops up from beneath the blanket to nuzzle closer to her. 

“I hate these dreams,” she whispers to him, scooting further underneath the covers. His body radiates comforting warmth as she wraps her arms around him and curls her body around his smaller frame. He nuzzles his head on her chest and exhales, blowing warm air onto her neck. “I’m glad you’re here.”

**_  
_ **

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Serena spits up some dirt and holds back tears as the boys above her snicker at her fallen body. She had been heading towards the inner courtyard at school when she had been shoved from behind. The grass was soft enough to lessen the blow, but, of course, there had been a dirt patch right below her. It sprayed up in her face as she smacked the ground.

The taste of gravel makes her stomach churn, and she has to reign in her anger. It flares up in her stomach like a roaring fire. She believes she can spit fire in this moment and wants to try so badly. 

“You don’t belong here. You and your family are just a disgrace to us here,” one of the younger boys sneers at her. 

Don’t speak to them, ignore them. She chants this to herself as she gets up and dusts off her clothes. She spits dirt from her mouth and takes a breath before continuing her journey inside. 

She doesn’t make it far. A hand grabs her bag and jerks her backwards. 

“Hey!” she shouts, whipping around and pulling herself away from the boy that grabbed her. 

“What’re you goin’ to do about it?” he challenges her.

She knows this boy, what was his name? Owen? Brandon? No, it’s Aiden. From a family that has been around here as long as her own. His trademark blonde hair is greased back, giving him a snobby look, and his sneer is worthy of an award. He’s been bugging her since Lance left his side. 

“Leave me alone,” she growls at him before spinning around. 

“Not so fast,” he reaches out again. This time he shoves her forward, and she hits the ground again. 

Serena’s anger flares, and she feels the bubble of energy rising up within her. She relishes in the idea of sending Aiden flying across the courtyard. The fear that would be on his and the others’ faces makes her consider it. But as she hits the ground, it squashes her anger. The fall is like a bucket of water, and the smoke is her anguish. 

“That’s enough!” a voice calls out. 

Fighting back tears, Serena glances up to see Lance heading their way. His light brown eyes looking furious as he crosses the grass to her side. He’s gentle when helping her up and dusting off her clothes. His grip is soothing on her wrist as he turns to the others. 

“Don’t touch Serena. If you do, I will let Mrs. Lockwood know that you cheated on her last test,” Lance threatens him in a tight voice and then smirks at him. “And you thought her class was too easy.”

“She’s below us!” someone else bellows. 

“Not from where I’m standing!” Lance shouts back. “Ganging up on one girl? Pushing her down and calling her names? Weak. Let’s go, Rena.”

Without another glance back, Lance takes her into the school all the way to a handwashing station. A metal structure sits in the middle of the entrances to the bathrooms. It’s round with petals to activate a small stream of water around the top of the structure. It’s for the younger kids to wash their hands before they eat their snacks and the big rush of classes going to the bathroom. On the walls are mirrors sitting low enough for the kids to look at themselves. 

Serena sniffles as he grabs paper towels and dabs them in water. He cleans up her things as she cleans up her clothes and then her face. 

“Don’t worry about them,” he mutters, brushing off the last bits of dirt from inside her bag. “They’re not cool or anything.”

“I-I know,” Serena’s voice cracks. Her hands can’t stop shaking as she swipes at a dirt stain on her new shirt with vigor. It’s long since set in and won’t come out no matter how much water she uses. “I wanna go home.”  
“You can’t!” Lance turns to her and crosses the small space between them. His hands come to rest on her shoulders, his light brown eyes holding hers. “You can’t let them win. You’re not alone.”

“But Lance, look,” she gestures to her shirt. “Now everyone will know, and they’ll all laugh at me.”

“No, they won’t,” he shakes his head and turns back towards his bag sitting next to hers. He rummages through it before tossing something red at her. 

She catches it and holds it out. “Your sweater?”

“Yeah, wear it today. Then no one will know.” Serena looks up at him, her dark blue eyes filling with tears once more. Lance holds up a finger. “No more tears. Now put the sweater on!”

She swipes at her tears and slips on the sweater. It droops on her smaller frame, but makes her look comfy and not out of the ordinary. Lance’s smell drifts into her nose, filling it with a sweet, comforting scent. It instills confidence in her, he will be there to protect her even if he’s not in the room. Just as promised. 

“Thank you.”

  


**_XxXxXxX_ **

“Take one last deep breath,” Rowan instructs Serena in a smooth tone. 

In the depths of her mind, Serena clings to her mother’s voice. She hates meditating and being sucked into the depths of her mind like this. There’s no doubt that it helps her keep control. But every time, she gets sucked into the same emotions, the same feeling she had when she was away. It makes her sweaty, shaky, and sad.

Sad because most of all, it brings her back to the blank memories she cannot find. She feels empty, like there’s a void in her mind. 

She does as her mother says and inhales, filling her lungs and pushing out the same amount of air. 

“How do you feel?” Rowan greets her daughter as she opens her eyes. 

“Calm,” Serena replies. But she’s lying, she feels like she’s been dragged through tar and mud. Her scars burn, and she can feel the blood pulsing through them. Her head is aching and she feels the faint sense that something was watching her meditate. She shifts on her pillow cushions, wishing they had picked a dimmer place to meditate aside from the sunroom. But her mother said it is best to be in a bright place where you feel warm and comfortable. 

“What about your back?” Rowan tilts her head.

Serena lifts her shoulders, “The same.”

“I’ll go get a cool rag,” her mother gets to her feet and scurries out of the room. 

This leaves Serena to endure another never ending silence. Her heart beats in her ear, a moderate paced rhythm as if she were taking  a light jog through town. Dressed in sweats and an oversized shirt of her father’s, Serena pulls the back of the shirt up to expose the wounded flesh to the cool air. Shivers run down her back as the heated skin touches the outside air. She releases a contented sigh in the silence. 

“Here you go,” Rowan’s voice swims through the warm air. 

It’s soon accompanied by the sudden cold touch of the rag she has brought back. Serena lets out a disgruntled noise as the cold is both comforting and irritating. Her mother half smiles and spreads the clean wash rag out over the upper half of her back. It brings soothing warmth and washes away the pain and nagging thoughts in her head. 

“Mom?”

“Yes, baby?”

“When am I going to be safe?” 

“What do you mean?” Rowan moves the rag towards her lower back.

“I want to hang out with Clair and Lance without being scared,” Serena admits, turning her head to gaze at her mother. “When am I going to be able to do that?”

Rowan stays silent for a moment. Her blue gray eyes focused on Serena’s back as she works with the gentlest touches. Serena shivers at the cold now that her scars have calmed down and at the fragility of the conversation. Her mother releases a calming breath and moves to sit in front of Serena. 

“You can’t be scared of what you can do,” she advises. “It can control you that way and you’ll never be ‘safe’. You have a great handle on your powers Serena. Back in that classroom, you were scared, and it happened unexpectedly. But now, you practice hard, and keep calm when you feel yourself losing control. You are safe.”

“How can you be sure?” Serena challenges. The mere thought of hurting her new friends tears at her heart. She couldn’t handle moving again, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself at that point. 

“It’s been about a month and you haven’t lost control,” Rowan beams at her daughter. “You’ve been through a rollercoaster of emotions at school and nothing has happened. So the  _ real _ question is, when are you  _ ready _ to hang out with Lance and Clair outside of school?”

Serena’s mouth opens to counter the question, but then pops it shut in consideration. She supposes her mother is right. At school, she has time to play with them at recess and do group projects with Clair in class. But aside from that, she never sees them. She only knows their school lives and personalities. Aside from that one day, she hasn’t spent much time around them casually. 

Would hanging out with them at home be that much of a difference? She doesn’t know, but has enough confidence in her parents that it wouldn’t be. 

“I’m ready now.”

  


**_XxXxXxX_ **

“You don’t look so good,” Clair comments, putting away her notebook. 

They have been dismissed for lunch and all the kids are scrambling to get to food. Serena yawns and shrugs her shoulders. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“What were you doing?” the blue haired girl responds.

“Just some bad dreams,” Serena mumbles reaching over for her lunch box. 

“About what?” Clair waits for her in front of her desk, clutching her own lunch box. 

“I don’t know,” Serena answers. It’s the truth. 

“Hmm, maybe if you started writing down your dreams, you’ll remember them better?” Clair suggests as the two match strides across the room. 

“How can I write down nothing?” Serena retorts. 

“It can’t just be nothing, was it dark?” 

“Yes.”

“Then write that,” she straightens her back, nodding once and sharp at Serena. 

“That doesn’t seem like it would help,” Serena mutters under her breath, ducking her head and following the blue haired girl. 

They round the corner on the way to the lunchroom only to stop when a tall figure stands in their way. Both glance up and Serena grins at her mother. Before moving, Serena used to be dismayed when her mother walked the school halls. Mostly because Rowan often corrected her teachers and that caused them to dislike her. Other times it was because she would be showered with affection in front of her old friends. Not that she was super close with any of them, they had common interests, but she always felt that receiving that affection would make things weird. 

Now, she’s overjoyed to see her mother. One of the few people who doesn’t ignore her or downright disrespect her in this school. 

“Hi, Mom,” she greets.

“Hello, Rena. Hi, Clair,” she waves at the other girl. 

“Hello, Mrs. Lockwood,” Clair salutes her.

“Heading to lunch?” Rowan tries not to grimace at the greeting. Since the beginning, Clair has insisted on greeting her like that. Whether it’s because she’s a teacher or not, they’re not sure. But it seems that Clair likes Rowan and it could just be as simple as that. 

“Yes,” Serena raises a brow and the box in her hand.

“Ah, yes,” Rowan chuckles. She then lifts her head to regard Clair. “I just talked with your parents, it seems that your family will be over for dinner later. Would you like to come over after school? Your parents will be busy at work and asked if we could watch you.”

“Do I get a choice?” Clair grins. “I want to come over!”

Serena’s heart leaps at the joy in Clair’s voice, her heart leaps at the excitement she feels at having those two in her home. 

“That’s it then, I’ll see you two later.” Rowan beams as she turns back towards her own classroom. 

As soon as she’s gone, the two girls glance at each other and let out quiet squeals of excitement. Their footsteps rush through the halls as they make a mad dash to the lunchroom. The day can only get better from there.

  


**_OoOoOoO_ **

“Your house is nice,” Clair comments as the girls drop their bags off at the foot of Serena’s bed. 

“Thanks,” Serena exhales, turning around to sit on her bed. “What does your house look like?”

“The same,” she shrugs, taking a seat next to Serena. “My room is shaped different, though.”

“Oh.”

The silence settles in as Serena tries to figure out what to do. She doesn’t do much on her own besides read and play with Ty. But she has to somehow incorporate Clair into her activities now. She has no idea what Clair likes to do on her own time. She should have figured this out a while ago. 

“So, uh, what do you want to do?” Serena broaches the subject. Her fingers tap out a chaotic rhythm on her legs.

“Can we go outside?” Clair tilts her head. 

Serena doesn’t want to go outside, but at least it’s a nice, warm day. “Sure.”

Out in the warmth of their gated backyard, Serena finds little comfort being exposed to the town. Sure, they can’t see her behind her house, but she has a strange feeling that she’s being scrutinized by the neighbors. Their backyard is fenced in with short stone walls below black metal fencing. Being close to the mountains, the ground is uneven. This allows for Serena and her father to hold strategic water gun fights as well as practice battles for Ty as he trains with her father on  a weekly basis. 

“Whoa...” Clair whispers as Aaron’s Salamence slumbers nearby. 

His massive body is sprawled across a large dirt patch he probably dug up, his red wings are curled in, and his tail is wrapped around his round body. His head is hidden, tucked beneath his wings, making him look like a large, strange egg. Nearby, Aaron drags out a grill and waves to the two. 

“Is this his?” Clair points at Salamence, then at Aaron. 

“Yes, he’s a big lug,” Serena repeats the words her father does most often. 

“Lug?” 

“He’s lazy.”

Clair nods in understanding and approaches the large pokemon with caution. Her steps are noisy as she doesn’t want to sneak up and startle it. The dragon could attack if she approached quietly enough. Salamence may be well trained by Aaron, but pure instinct is hard to break. 

“Salamence, wake up,” Aaron speaks the words, and the pokemon stirs from his sleep. 

The two girls watch the pokemon spread his wings and lift his head to let out a tired yawn. A small spout of fire erupts from his mouth like a burp. He shakes his head and turns to his trainer. The two share a greeting before the dragon type turns his attention to the two young girls a few feet away. He greets Serena with a gentle growl in her direction. She grins back and gestures to her friend. 

“My friend, Clair.”

Salamence narrows his eyes and approaches the newcomer as if she were prey. Nostrils flared and wings tensed out behind him, Salamence lowers his large head to sniff at Clair. She giggles and allows the pokemon to inspect her, turning this way and that to help him familiarize with her. Serena watches with fascination. Most of her old friends were terrified of her father’s choice in pokemon. 

Many students are fearful of dragon types because they’re still so new. Not many people have done research on them, and a few who have, died. Serena’s been told it is because those people were not cautious and dove into something without thinking of basic precaution. Dragon types are dangerous, they’re volatile and even after they’ve been trained, are known to resort to instincts to protect what is theirs.

However, once a dragon type has gained the trust of its trainer and is deemed worthy of it, they will never go back on an order. 

Serena knows she can trust Salamence because he trusts her father so much. He would never put him in danger.

“My dad says it’s rare to see a Salamence in Johto,” Clair mutters holding out a hand to the pokemon. “Did your dad go somewhere?”

“He spent a lot of time traveling to far away regions,” Serena answers. 

Clair manages to pet Salamence’s bumpy scales and utters a happy giggle about it. The pokemon rolls onto his side, allowing the two to scratch and rub his soft tummy. He purrs in content, his stomach warming up like a heating blanket. The two sprawl their bodies across his stomach, their heads pressed to his soft skin to hear his heartbeat. Salamence closes his wings around them and peeks his head inside.

Their giggles are heard as the pokemon sniffs their hair and flicks his tongue out at them. Aaron watches with a smile as Salamence spreads his wings in an alternating pattern pretending to hide them from him. The girls roll around in the grass, playing tag with each other and climbing all over Salamence.

Dirt flies, bits of grass wrenched from the ground as the two forget about the world and just play. Serena grins, watching as Clair acts out a scene from a book they read in class. The story about a knight that befriends the dragon instead of killing it. It’s a twist on the book, but one the girls took to immediately. Serena joins in pretending to be a rival knight and the two try desperately to get Salamence to side with each other. In the end the two pick their own friendship over the lazy dragon’s. 

“Time to clean up, girls!” Aaron calls to them from the patio door.

“Race ya!” Clair shoves Serena over. 

The brunette hits the ground with a light thump, she pauses before getting up and laughing. She chases after Clair, her face alight with happiness. A sudden wind sweeps her hair out of her face and along with it comes a touch of... something. 

All her hearing disappears for a moment and Serena stops running to fall to her knees. The world goes to black for a quick second before her senses crash down on her like a wave. She takes a deep breath, her father’s face filling her vision, his dark eyes deep with worry and his brows knit together. His hands are on her sides pulling her up into his strong grasp. 

“I-I’m fine!” she breathes, pushing on his arms with a strong grip. “I-I got up too soon.”

“Are you sure?” Aaron holds her close, his eyes roaming her face for a sign of injury. 

She swallows a lump in her throat, another lie to add to the countless ones she’s told her parents since her return. It has ruined her and in turn ruined her relationship between her and her parents. She desperately wants to tell them the thoughts dancing at the edge of her mind, the dreams she’s been having, but that would mean therapy again. That would mean isolation. Gazing into her father’s face, she nods. “I’m fine.”

He holds her for a moment longer before finally releasing her and escorting the two inside. 

Clair grabs Serena’s hand as they head to the upstairs bathroom. Her blue eyes are large and shiny when Serena glances back at her. “Did I push you too hard?”

“No, it wasn’t you,” Serena tugs on Clair’s arm, bumping their bodies together. “You’re fine. I’m fine. We’re fine.”

The two giggle and wrestle into the bathroom. 

Downstairs, Serena’s heart clenches at the sound of grown up voices speaking amongst each other. She licks her lips and doesn’t dare glance over the balcony to see who is down in the great room. Wesley, for sure, is down there, but she hasn’t met Clair’s parents nor Lance’s mother. Would they like her? Do they know?

“Are you scared?” Clair questions from the top of the stairs. “They’re my family and they will like you.”

“I know, I just...” Serena bites her lip, but then smiles. “Okay. I’m ready.”  
Clair holds out her hand for her and Serena takes it with little hesitation. The two head downstairs, both dressed still in their dirty clothes but without a care in the world. At the bottom of the steps, Lance is the first to greet them. His lanky body towering over the two of them. He’s dressed in regular blue jeans and a dark t shirt. His red hair has been brushed back to look neat and tidy. He grins at the two of them. 

“Come meet my mom,” he reaches for Serena, but she’s jerked back by Clair. 

“No. I was here first so she gets to meet my family first!” she dictates, dragging Serena past the frowning boy. 

Serena shrugs at Lance but gives him a thumbs up to promise that she will meet his mother. Clair drags Serena past the Lockwoods and straight to a couple, her own parents.

“My turn,” Lance stands behind the two, glaring at Clair. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Clair hands off Serena to him. He doesn’t take her hand, but her wrist and pulls her to the kitchen where her mother is. 

The delicious aroma of fresh cooked meat, vegetables and a dinner rolls splashes Serena in the face as the two enter the kitchen area. Past the round bar sits an island where the two women are talking. Serena’s mother, dressed in slacks and a casual shirt, her long hair has been tied back into a ponytail. She makes her outfit look more appropriate for a work dinner party with the way she holds her head high and her shoulders back. Her mouth is set in a smile and she looks happy to Serena. Happier than she’s been since they’ve moved in. 

Talking with her is a woman with red hair falling like a waterfall to her mid back. She is beautiful to Serena, with a kind smile, a small nose and round, earthy eyes. She’s dressed in a navy blue shirt and black pants. She is also enjoying their conversation and Serena watches this woman reach out to Rowan as if they were good friends. 

“Mom. Meet Serena,” Lance comes up to the two. He pulls Serena forward for his mother to see. 

“Hello, Serena,” she beams at her. Her voice is smooth, but strong as if ready to give a command at any moment. 

Suddenly shy, Serena reaches out her hand and speaks in a small voice. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, I’m Kaida,” Kaida’s hand envelopes hers in a warm grip. “You and Clair do a nice job keeping my son out of trouble.”

Serena giggles at her wink. “Yeah, he’s pretty bad.”

“Am not!” he pouts, but it melts away at his mother’s giggle and pat on the head. 

“No. The three of you are good kids,” she comments in a distant tone.

The back of Serena’s mind begins to itch and she beats down the urge to look into her mind and see what she means. Sometimes people’s thoughts attract her mind and make it too tempting to peek. So far, she’s done good in keeping out, but with Kaida’s tone of voice and how secretive the adults are being, the urge is strong. 

_ Ding! _

“Dinner’s ready!” Rowan exclaims, pulling everyone from their conversations. 

Serena and Lance rush to the dining room to grab a seat next to Clair. Their families join them, all of them laughing and talking about old memories. The golden glow from the lights above them and the hot food set in front of them envelops Serena in a kind of moment. She glances around the table, her chest feeling light and her worries a dull roar as these people smile at her, care about her and love her. For this moment, she feels like nothing can get to her and that she can overcome whatever is thrown at her. 


	9. Alive Again

Today’s the big day. It’s Lance’s birthday, and he is going to have a party after school. Serena received an invitation and everything. Only a few kids from his class are going to be there, the one’s that are okay with Serena or don’t give her trouble. But he made sure to invite her and Clair. For weeks, she struggled with what to possibly get him. He’s a boy, so what would he like? She didn’t know. 

After collaborating with her mother, who said ‘no’ to her idea of giving him a key to a test, she got him something he’s been wanting for the longest time: a remote controlled helicopter her father helped her pick out. Lance has been obsessing over things that fly lately, and Serena thought he might like it. It’s nothing flashy or too personal, which worries her. What if he actually wants something else, but she doesn’t know him well enough to understand that?

“He’s going to love it, Rena,” Rowan beams at her daughter while wrapping up the present. 

“What if someone else got him the same thing?” Serena replies in a worried tone. 

“No one got him the same thing, I promise,” her mother answers.

Serena isn’t sure how her mother could possibly know that information, but she’d rather not ask and find out. It’s best not to question Rowan when she states something with complete confidence. It doesn’t turn out well for her father, and so it won’t turn out well for her. She glances at the wrapped up present sitting on the kitchen counter. They settled for Dragonite themed paper and a dark blue bow. She picked out the paper. He’s told her multiple times that he wants a team of straight Dragonite because they’re so amazing and powerful. 

“He’s going to like it,” Rowan reassures her one final time. “You should go get ready, school is going to start soon.”

“Are you and Dad both going?” Serena questions, sliding out of her chair and heading towards the front door to slip on her shoes. 

“Your father is going to be busy with work, but I will be there,” her mother promises. 

Satisfied with the answer, Serena asks no more and turns silent on their walk to school. The weather has turned much colder in the past few months. Her breath is visible, and she gets a sudden rush of heat and sweat when she enters the warmth of the school. Layers are becoming a must when she’s outside nowadays, and that goes for the rest of the city, too. The halls are cluttered with mittens, hats, and scarves.

She has become numb to the sensation of going to school, the creeping anxiety, and overbearing fear are no more to her. Clair and Lance make her excited to be in school, but only because she is safe when they’re around. The former has taken it upon herself to walk with Serena everywhere so that another incident with Aiden won’t happen again. 

The bullying has lessened a ton since the two cousins began protecting her, but the whispers, glares, and the occasional shove haven’t stopped. Serena can handle it from the kids, but when it comes to adults, it’s different. Their neighbors don’t acknowledge her parents or her  whenever the family is out and about, others stare, whisper, or completely ignore their presence. It’s unsettling.

“Have a great day at school, honey,” Rowan leans over to kiss her daughter’s temple. 

Serena remembers, back at her old school, that her mother would purposely try and embarrass her in front of everybody by placing kisses all over her. Of course, Serena loved it, but she also didn’t want that to be known by those at school. But now, there’s no point. No one’s watching them, no one’s waiting for Serena at the front of the school, and she suddenly feels strange. Like something so small has suddenly become huge, and she can’t have it anymore. 

Her mother pats her head before heading towards the teacher’s lounge. Often, Serena sees the bags under her eyes or her face pulled tight when she spots her mother around school. As hard as it is on Serena, it must be harder on her mother to be back here, but she just can’t tell. Her parents don’t mention anything about anyone giving them trouble, and she knows that it’s happening. After all, they’re the reason the Elders felt the need to punish them so long ago, the reason she is enduring what she has to while living here. 

“Hey!” Clair calls out to Serena as the young brunette steps out into the front courtyard. The other students ignore her as she approaches the blue haired girl who embraces her without another thought. A warm sensation makes Serena smile at the other girl’s touch before they pull away and grin. “Ready for the party later?”

“I think so,” she admits and tugs at the scarf around her neck. 

“It’s going to be great. Lance’s mom makes the best sweets in the city!” Clair beams. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be fun.”

Serena says nothing and follows her friend into school with a reserved look on her face. If she can handle herself at school, what’s making her worried about going to Lance’s birthday party? There won’t be as many people, so it shouldn’t be a problem. But she just knows that the kids are going to be sent off to play on their own and that’s when it’ll start. Someone is going to say something, and it’ll lead to a fight between Lance and his friends. 

There’s nothing she hates more than seeing those two fight with their friends. These are the friends that tolerate Serena, ones that will be cordial with her and nothing more. Friends that they trust and like, and she’s constantly putting their bonds to the test. She feels like she’s poking at them, forcing them to meet at a corner where they can either cut if off or continue on. Serena doesn’t want to be the reason that they’re alone at the end of this. If she can just make it through the day without incident it would be great. 

The day goes by fast. Lance is jovial all day, reminding the two of them that there is a party and that he can’t wait to play games and have fun. His parents dropped off cupcakes for him and his class, leaving two extra for the girls, and Serena’s mother got him a balloon as per usual in her classroom with birthdays. The hallways were pretty tame, and there was no shoving. All in all, it’s a promising sign to Serena.

“How are you feeling?” Rowan asks her as the two change into more casual clothes before heading out. 

“Nervous,” she mutters, fixing her hair back into a ponytail and retying her scarf. “But Clair will be there.”

“That’s right. I’ll be there, and his parents will be too.”

“Can I bring Ty?” Serena speaks after a moment.

Rowan considers it before nodding. “Yes, but you can’t let him out of his ball. The other kids don’t have pokemon yet, and you have him for many different reasons. Okay?”

After a curt nod, Serena, with Lance’s gift in her arms and Ty on her belt, leads the way to the front door. The coolish air of Blackthorn soothes her nerves as they walk a few blocks over to Lance’s parents house. She hasn’t been over to either of their houses, but she has seen them before. His parents live in a two-story home just a street away from hers. It’s an easy find, just kitty corner from the end of her street.

Its exterior is light in color, and their driveway curves towards the front of the house, allowing for optimal play time space. Much like the other houses in their neighborhood, the yard is uneven, but grassy with bushes lining the house. Their gate is the same as the others, dark in color and open for all to visit. 

As they approach, Serena catches sight of the party set up outside and already in full swing with some of Lance’s friends hanging around him. There looks to be three of his other friends present. Clair is there too, watching them run as if she were the one that sent them on a mission. As the two approach, Kaida greets them with a warm smile and arms open to embrace the two. 

“Glad to see you two,” she beams. “I can take the gift.”

Rowan smiles and allows the red haired woman to take the box. The two walk off chatting about something Serena finds rather boring. Left to her own devices, the brunette seeks out the company of Clair near the snack table. Candy and other sweets are laid out along the table with some drinks at the end for the kids. Wesley is nearby, grilling away while speaking with Clair’s father and a few other men. The two wave at the girls and Serena tries not to feel hurt when the other men turn their heads away from them. She waves back before greeting Clair with a grin. 

“What’s up?” she says, grabbing a plate and filling it with some snacks. 

“The boys are jerks,” Clair pouts at her, popping a chocolate covered pretzel in her mouth. 

“They won’t let you play with them again?” 

“No. Said I was ‘too crazy’.”

“You wrestled them, huh?”

Clair refuses to answer and takes a long drink of juice like she’s seen adults do on tv shows. “It’s not my fault they’re sore losers.”

Serena smiles despite the rising bubble of anxiety in her chest. Clair knows how to make situations into a positive one. She turns to the snack table and considers taking some food, but a laugh from one the boys stops her, and she remembers what’s been going around the school lately. Glancing down at her stomach, she grimaces and decides she’ll pass on the food. 

“What’s wrong? You don’t like the food?” Clair tilts her head, her eyes glancing between the food and her hand. 

“No, I’m just not hungry,” Serena takes a few pauses between her words, as if still debating on the decision. By the end, she sets the chocolate treat back on the platter and offers Clair a weak smile. 

“Okay,” the blue haired girl shrugs it off and pulls Serena away from the table and towards the group of boys playing under a large tree.

“Stop, I don’t want to,” Serena tugs on Clair’s arm and shakes her head. 

“Don’t worry about them. Lance invited his good friends,” she reasons with her. 

“I know, but...” the darker haired girl sneaks a glance at the boys having a ton of fun with the birthday boy. 

“It’ll be fine,” Clair tugs her along as they approach the outer circle of boys playing basketball. 

Serena cringes as their laughter dies down and two of the closest ones glance at her with distaste. The air is sucked from her lungs as she struggles to keep her chin up against their stares and looks for Lance. He gives her the chance to relax as he steps forward to offer her a light hug in greeting. 

“Happy birthday,” she mutters, smiling at him in relief. 

He grins that goofy grin of his and pats her back. “Glad you could make it! You’re the last one, now we get to play some games.”

The other boys turn away one by one to cheer and race towards the grill where the adults have gathered to help set up some games. The kids are divided into groups with Lance being paired with his best friend Jax. The girls are in one group and everyone is given a list of items to find and a bag to put the items in. Kaida gathers all the kids around her to explain the rules and goal of the game, her eyes are bright with excitement.

“On your list are clues as to what you have find. First to find all the clues gets first pick on prizes!”

The kids cheer before setting off on the hunt. Serena holds up the page and reads the clues out loud to Clair. There are ten items on the list, and she notices that they get harder as they go. The first is something you can cook with and the last is something that starts with the letter ‘L’. Clair comes up with everything pretty quick, and the two girls race around the house.

The boys race past them, some of them knocking things just out of reach but Clair keeps Serena going. Their bag fills up as their list shortens with each item. Serena is happy to hold the stuff while Clair does most of the work. Her eyes glow with each item obtained until they reach the last thing. 

“Well, first place is lost so we have a little more time,” Clair scowls at Lance and Jax as they play with their prizes. 

“What about a ladle?” Serena is quick to offer her help.

“The boys used it as their cooking utensil, that's who we’re against,” she replies with a sigh. 

“What about a lock? Would that count?” 

Clair considers it and shrugs. “Sure, the garage is this way.”

The two dash from the living room through the house to the garage. They burst through the door to see one of the other boys pulling down a box full of locks from a tall shelf. 

“Hey, Asher. Can you grab us one?” Clair holds out her hand with a grin. 

Asher is a tall lanky boy with a mop of sandy blond hair and a crooked smile. He's well known for being sporty and well rounded. Serena has run into him before, and the most he does is say ‘excuse me’ before scurrying away from her, which is better than putting her on the ground. 

Behind him stands Ryder, another athletic boy with dark hair, light eyes, and a charming smile. If Serena wasn't always on edge, she thinks she would have a crush on him. But the way he looks at her now makes her want to shrivel up and hide. 

“Why should I?” he challenges Clair with a raised eyebrow. He picks up a lock from the box and hands it to Ryder before placing it higher than it was before. “Get it yourself.”

“Why you!” Clair runs after the boys, swearing and shouting at them like a sailor. 

Serena, already used to this behavior, focuses on her goal. Glancing up, she stares at the box and allows her mind to reach up and pull the box from its perch. It trembles before sliding out and floating down to her hands. She pulls out a lock and lifts it up with her hands as faR as she can reach before using her mind to lift it the rest of the way. 

She grins to herself and dashes out of the garage and nearly runs into Clair with her father. The two pause and glance at the lock in her hand. 

“You wanted me to get that lock?” he points at it with confusion.

“Don’t worry, I found one on the ground,” she provides a fib before running past them with Clair in tow for the backyard.

The two girls giggle and laugh as they reach the grass. Kaida stands under the big tree next to a table of prizes, she’s speaking with Wesley as Lance, Jax and two of the other boys play. From the corner of her eye, Serena spots Asher and Ryder come bursting from the side of the house. They’re in a hard sprint for Kaida, leaving the girls in the dust, but the anger she sealed away earlier comes back, and she focuses on Asher’s foot. The boy seems to trip and hits the ground. Above him, Ryder stops running to laugh in his face as the boy spits out dirt. 

Clair snorts and drags Serena behind her as the two make a mad dash for the beautiful red haired woman. Asher and Ryder are left behind, one laughing and one fuming mad, allowing them to get the list and items to Kaida first. It’s approved, and Serena feels a bubble of warmth in her chest. She releases a laugh and shares a hug with Clair. The two get some prizes, candy, a coloring book, and crayons. 

Clair’s father helps Asher clean up as the food is served and the cake is cut. Lance is beaming the entire time, and even hugs Serena for the gift she got him. The party goes by smoothly with none of the boys creating any more problems for Serena. Though by the end, the adults have wandered inside, and while the kids are bundled up they have extra warmth to spare from playing around. 

“Do we have to stay in this yard?” Jax complains when Lance lands the helicopter at the front gate. 

“Where else would we go?” the birthday boy questions. 

“We could take it to the entrance of the Ice Path,” the other boy, Colton, chimes in. “There’s some boulders in front of it and that little pond too. You can make an obstacle course for it!” 

“Why can’t we do that here?” Lance frowns, the idea seems too risky to him. 

“Come on, it’s your birthday. Let’s have some fun,” Colton snorts and then glances at Serena. “Besides, S-serena hasn’t seen the entrance. Maybe we should show her, you know, with us.”

This seems to spark something in Lance, and he nods. Serena perks up at the thought of being included, and she squashes the smile that fights its way to her lips. She doesn’t want to ruin the moment by being overly excited. Lance glances back at the house and then at Clair. She squints her right eye, and he responds with an open palmed shrug. Serena has seen this before and knows that they’re debating what to do. After a few more seconds, there’s a nod between the two before they turn towards the rest of the group. Clair takes her spot at Serena’s side and loops their arms.

“Okay, but we have to be quiet and  _ fast _ ,” Lance urges under his breath. “The gate is a little bit open, don’t knock it, and you should make it.”

The boys high five each other and one by one the kids dart out of the yard and run across that small section of the city towards its exit. It’s late afternoon by this time, and their neighborhood is a few blocks away from the outskirts of town. Near the entrance of the city sits two large pillars with Dragonite statues perched on top. A metal sign arcs between them, connected to their backs, ‘Blackthorn City’ cut out from the metal strip. 

The terrain is rocky and freezing. Serena zips up her coat and pulls her scarf around her face a little tighter. Above them looms the mountain containing the Ice Path and so much more. The kids stare at it in awe as they come up to a rather large bay covered in ice. Serena has not been out this way before, and is shocked that the ‘pond’ they stated earlier is bigger than she thought. It’s big enough to put a safe distance between Blackthorn and Ice Path, however, she doesn’t think an adult could swim across it. 

Frost covers much of the ground, though it is thinner on this side than the thick layers of it across the bay. Clair points a finger to their left and glances back at Serena. 

“That leads to the lake where the gym is in Blackthorn and the rivers outside of it,” she explains with pride. 

“Wow,” Serena breathes, a puff of vapor escaping her mouth. 

The revelation is cut short as the boys chant for Lance to fly the helicopter over the water. He does so without a pause, and they’re laughing and trying to toss chunks of frosty dirt at the copter to test his agility with the remote. Serena examines the bay with interest. Except for the time they went to Vermillion, Serena hasn’t had much contact with large bodies of water. In the depths of her mind, she has a vague vision of the ocean, and she can’t quite tell if it’s a memory or her imagination. 

Stepping away from the group, she steps up to the water and bends over for a closer look. The ice is thicker in the shallows, but just glancing outwards shows that the water is flowing farther out. A small breeze brushes by her, sending chills down her back.

“Hey, Cheater,” a voice hisses behind her. 

Serena turns to see Asher and Ryder stalking up to her. Her eyes swing to the right to find Clair and Lance having fun with the others by creating a course with piles of rocks and testing Lance’s piloting skills close to the ground. In her chest, her heart seizes as Asher’s tall body blocks her vision. The smile on his face is no longer crooked, but sharp and cold. 

“I don’t know how you got a lock, but I have a feeling you hid it sometime before the game started. You may be Lance’s friend, but you’re no friend of mine,” he sneers at her. 

Serena tries to sidestep him, but he shoves her back, and she hits the ground on the edge of the grassy shore. She sits up and tries to scoot away, but is grabbed by the collar and lifted upwards towards Asher’s face. From below, she hears a faint thumping sound and it makes her breathing sky rocket: Ty’s pokeball.

“What’s this?” Ryder comments, bending over and scooping up the little ball. “What’s in here?”

“N-nothing, I-I carry it around for good luck,” Serena lies, but curses herself for sounding so weak. 

“Nothing, eh?” Asher searches her eyes for the lie. He sets her on the ground, keeping his fist wrapped around the collar of her jacket, and turns to Ryder. “Toss out onto the ice, if there’s nothing in there, she won’t care then.”

“Don’t!” she shouts, and then tries to fight off Asher.

He shoves her to the ground before bursting into laughter as Ryder tosses the little pokeball onto the lake. She scrambles to her feet and watches the ball arc through the air and land just a few feet away from the shore. By this time, the others heard the commotion and come running over. Colton and the other boy start laughing as if they were in on the plan the entire time, and it’s then that Serena realizes it. He wanted her to feel special, like she mattered so that Lance would take them out there, and Asher could have his revenge. Tears well up in her eyes, but she can’t find the energy to cry when she still has to get Ty before he’s left there until spring, or until someone else takes him. The thought of her pokemon being taken away sparks her anger, and she takes a step forward. 

“No, don’t!” Lance puts a hand on her shoulder. “It’s dangerous. Let me.”

“Or she’s too fat,” Asher mutters under his breath. 

Serena flinches and is about to retort something when Jax comes out of nowhere and knocks the other boy down with his fist. 

“You’re such an ass, you know that?” Jax nudges the moaning boy away with his foot and turns to the other boys. “Go get the adults so that they can help her get her pokeball.”

“Why should we wh-”

“Clair!” Lance and Serena shout at the sametime as the blue haired girl rushes onto the ice. 

“What are you doing?” Lance thunders from the edge of the water. “Get back here!”

“You guys were wasting time!” she shouts back and trips just before the ball.

The boys burst into more laughter as Serena lets out a shocked scream. Lance glances between the two and urges Serena to stand a few steps closer to Jax before turning away. Serena steps forward to stop him, but Jax grabs her wrist and pulls her away. The two become silent while the other boys chant and cheer for Lance to make it back. They snicker and make comments at Serena, but she ignores them in favor of focussing on the two. 

She’s never moved two people before, and she’s not sure if she’ll drop them along the way. That’s a risk she can’t take, if they get lost because of her, she would never forgive herself for it. 

Beside her, Jax keeps a gentle grip on her arm while muttering to himself as he thinks of a way out of this. 

“Watch out!” Serena shouts when a loud cracking sound silences the boys. She pushes against Jax begging for him to let her go. “Let me help them!”

“You can’t!” he argues and pulls her away from the edge of the lake just as the cracking sound becomes more abundant. 

She turns to see Clair clutching the pokeball and Lance clutching her before they fall through. There’s a split second, that seems more like hours, where Serena doesn’t believe that any of this is real. That it’s a nightmare she’s about to wake up from. But she sees the two of them struggling at the surface to get a grip on some ice to pull themselves out and failing to do so. Blood pumps through her veins, and the only words flying through her mind are screaming at her to save them. 

She runs to the edge of the water, Jax holds her back, and she falls to her knees with one arm stretched out. In the back of her mind, she feels a slight pulse and sends it out towards their flailing bodies and the pokeball. She closes her fingers to a loose fist and focusses on them. At first, they just stop moving and stay suspended at the surface of the freezing waters, but after a deep breath, she pushes against the weight in her mind and lifts them up from the depths. Behind her, the boys watch with a mixture of awe and horror as she pulls them towards the shallow part of the lake that is safer. 

Jax releases her and shouts at one of the boys to get help. Asher snaps out of his daze and sprints back towards Lance’s house. On the ground, Serena watches through a lens as the boys rush to get the two cousins to the safety of the grass. Lance and Clair shiver and cough as they huddle close for warmth. Jax demands the others take off their jackets to lend their warmth to the two. In her own daze, Serena lays her jacket and scarf over Clair and holds the girl’s.

“H-h-he-re,” Clair shivers, her body convulsing with mini tremors on the ground. 

Serena accepts the pokeball and clutches it to her chest while letting her hot tears flow. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry...”

Clair tries to talk more but is silenced by the shouts of the adults running up to them Wesley and Tatsuo at the head of the group. The two men reach them and bend down over their kids. Wesley’s training kicks in, and he tells Kaida to call for help, one of the other parents gathers the boys around him to comfort them. Rowan rushes over to Serena and tries to calm her. 

“It’s my fault, I should have stayed behind,” Serena blubbers to her mother while trying to breathe. “It all happened so fast!”

“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay,” Rowan smooths her hair and takes her aside as help arrives to cart the two away. 

Serena leans into her mother, watching Lance and Clair’s parents remorse over their children being hurt. Ishihara’s face flashes in her mind, and she resists the urge to vomit then and there. She hadn’t meant to cause this trouble. She just wanted to be accepted. Was it always going to be this hard for her? 

“It was her, she pulled them out without touching them!” Asher cries to an older looking man with flecks of white in his hair. 

He glances up at Serena and then at Rowan with a sneer. “If you’re harboring some dangerous secret about your daughter, you need to keep it under control.”

“She saved my baby!” Kaida rounds on the man. “The only person that needs control is your son, Damarius. I know for a fact he has been a bully to Serena ever since she came here, and he’s following  _ your _ steps.”

“Do not speak to me as if I am below you!” Damarious bellows, only to be stopped by Wesley rising up to his full height. 

“When my son and niece are better, and they tell me what happened, you better hope your son wasn’t involved,” he speaks in a sharp tone, scary enough to make Serena whimper into her mother’s leg. “Now leave, you will be hearing from me soon.”

Serena clutches her mother and tries not to flinch when Wesley rounds on her. But his face melts into a gentle smile as he approaches and bends down to her level. He holds out his hand and engulfs her smaller hand in both of his. “Thank you for saving them. I may not understand how, but I am grateful that you could.”

Speechless, Serena is left to nod as he gets to his feet, and there is a sudden flurry of more movement. The other boys are sent home under Asher’s dad’s responsibility. Jax glances back at Serena catching her eye as her mother talks with the other adults. There's a moment of understanding between them as he realizes that she cares for Lance as much as he does, and that she's not a bad person. He nods at her in acknowledgement and waves goodbye. She returns the wave a little shocked and feels heat rise in her cheeks. Someone had noticed her, after something terrible and tragic, someone around her age noticed it wasn't her fault.

The warm feeling disappears as everything is set into a blurry of motion. Wesley and Kaida disappear with Clair’s father in the direction of the Wataru’s home. She is pulled in the same direction, but is cut off before she can apologize to the other adults. Her mother won’t look back and seems edgy as they rush back to their own house. Serena can barely keep up with her shorter legs and is out of breath by the time they make it to their house. 

She is unaware of her own creeping panic until she is taken home and sits in front of the mirror in her parent’s room. They’re talking in the office nearby, and she can hear their mumbled voices. The clock on the bedside table ticks at her, each small tick feels like a hammer slamming down on a hard surface. It beats at her heart, urging her to just scream and cry, begging for answers as to what’s going on. Is this her fault? But she saved them! She also revealed her powers, but her father never said it had to be a secret. She had just assumed. 

“Mommy?” she breaks the silence. The talking stops, and she listens to their footsteps as they approach the room. 

“What’s wrong?” Rowan rushes to her daughter, her hand flying to her forehead to check her temperature. 

“Am I in trouble?” Serena tries to hold in her tears, her lips turning pouty and her cheeks growing red.

“No, honey,” her mother takes her face in her hands and presses kisses all over her face. “I’m proud of you.”

Not expecting that, Serena pulls away with a skeptical look on her face, glancing between the two of them. “What?”

“Honey, you saved them from danger. You have gained control over your powers,” her father kneels down beside her, taking her hand in his. 

“You think so?” she glances between them, she can’t believe this news. Her friends are in the hospital, and she’s perfectly fine. Maybe if she hadn’t stood so close to the water they’d be fine...

“You got them out of the water before any real damage could be done,” her father affirms with a nod of his head. “I promise.”

Her brain can’t quite wrap around those words, but she trusts her parents and understands that they mean what they’re telling her. She relaxes for just the moment as they take her downstairs to discuss a game plan. The sight of Lance and Clair gasping and reaching for dry land replays itself in her head. She bares her teeth and clutches Ty’s pokeball tighter to her chest. In her mind, she tells herself that everything will be fine. They weren’t in the water for long, and that has to count for something. 

All she has to do now is wait for her heroics to pay off. 

 


	10. Needle & Thread

There was a small uproar between the adults of the kids in Serena’s class as well as the ones that attended Lance’s birthday. The Elders called an emergency meeting that she was not allowed to attend. Her father wasn’t allowed either. Before leaving for the meeting, Rowan promised Serena and her father that she and her grandparents could handle it. But that made the both of them feel much worse about not being present. It felt odd that Serena wasn’t summoned to the meeting. She hadn’t gone to school or even left the house. She couldn’t bear to be in that school without Clair and Lance at her side to protect her. She hated the way it sounded, but there was no way she could face these people without them, not after what she did. 

Her and her father resign to stay at the Wataru’s house where Lance and Clair also wait for their parents to return with news. The two have been out of school for a few days, but are in much better health than the initial day after exposure to the freezing temperatures. Serena has been over once since they came home and both of them were grateful to her for saving them. The same goes for their parents. Neither quite remember how she was able to save them, and while they’re desperate to know, their parents warned them to wait until after the meeting with the Elders. 

After today, Serena can answer any questions they have, and she’s even been practicing. The first time was with her parents, and the next hundreds of times were in front of her mirror. So far, her dialogue is consistent and she can explain it enough without giving too much away. She’s not going to tell them about her uncle or the scars. She’s going to say that her power came about because of her age. It’s less of a hassle.

In the Wataru home, Lance and Clair spend their time in the living room. Their exposure may have been short, but that didn’t stop them from getting sick. Now that they’re getting over their sicknesses, they will be heading to school the next day.

“Serena!”

Their greetings never fail to make Serena smile as she takes her spot between them on the cushy couch. They make room for her as she brings Lance’s homework from her mother and Clair the homework Rowan received from the school that morning. Both push the papers away and implore about the meeting. 

“I don’t know anything about it,” she admits in a whisper. Aaron is in the kitchen, and the kids have been asked to not talk about it. But what else are they supposed to do? The whole town talks about it, why shouldn’t they? “Maybe they thought I would... argue.” She catches herself before spilling the beans. They can’t know about her powers just yet. She assumes the council thought she would attack them. 

“But you  _ should  _ be arguing, because you’ve done nothing wrong,” Lance counters with a frown.

“It’s not fair,” she agrees. She’s beginning to feel that life will always treat her this way.

“Our parents said they will do everything to help, so I wouldn’t worry about it,” Clair tries to comfort her.

“Easy for you to say,” Serena snaps at her, hurt that Clair could brush off something so important. 

“I’m just saying that things are going to be handled fine,” Clair revises her statement.

Serena takes a deep breath to relax and nods at Clair. “I hope so.”

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Serena picks at her second slice of the pizza her father ordered, being unable to cook something appropriate for the kids himself. It smells delicious, complete with gooey cheese melting down the sides and pepperonis sprinkled on top. Her first slice was great, but ever since the incident at the lake, she’s been debating seconds for her meals. On either side of her, Clair and Lance dig into the pizza without a single care. Her eyes slide to her father as he munches on his own piece with a smile on his face. She lets out a tiny sigh and pushes her plate away. 

“What’s wrong, honey?” Aaron touches her arm. “Not hungry?”

“Not really,” she shrugs. “How long was this meeting again?”

He retracts his hand to rub his chin in thought. “It’s been a little over four hours.”

Serena is about to argue when the front door opens. Her lips shut as Rowan enters the house flanked by Kaida, Wesley, and Clair’s parents. They look tired and stop whatever conversation they were having. Clair leaves her seat and rushes towards her parents, Lance follows to do the same, but Serena stays glued to her seat. Her body is rigid and her breathing comes in quick little bursts. This is worse than being yelled at by her old principal. She doesn’t want to be kicked out of this school. She has better friends here, friends that actually like her. 

Aaron stands up to approach his wife. She turns to speak to him, but he leads her away from their daughter. She frowns and is about to ask why when he begins speaking in a hushed tone. “All she’s had to eat today was toast and a slice of pizza.”

Rowan’s mouth snaps shut, and she glances around him to focus on Serena. Their daughter stares at nothing while finishing her glass of water. She pays no attention to the pizza in front of her. “No fever?”

“She’s not sick,” he affirms. He moves his head to make their eyes meet and keeps his voice firm. “What did they say?”

Rowan lets out a prolonged sigh and runs a hand through her light colored hair. “She’s in the clear. My parents argued that Serena couldn’t have a fair shot of redemption if they banned her because of bullying in the clan. They believe it’s clan blood responsible for her powers and they’re proud of it.”

“Pricks,” Aaron growls, but it’s true. There’s no history of psychics in his family and the chances of her getting it from him are minuscule. It has been obvious that it’s from Rowan’s side since the beginning. Though after the events with his brother, they suspect that she has a lot more power than before. He lets that go and rears his head at his wife in disbelief. “Wait, your parents actually helped?”

“My parents aren’t that bad. They do love her. Just not how she was, erm, born,” she coughs at the end of her explanation 

Aaron raises a brow at her. “You mean conceived.”

“Stop it.”

He laughs, kissing her forehead at her blush. The two of them beckon everyone to the dining room table. Serena keeps her hands in her lap and watches the adults converge on either side and in front of her. Clair and Lance take a spot on either side of her, waiting for the verdict. Rowan sits across from her, her eyes sweeping over her daughter, checking for problems. Her eyes land on her plate of untouched pizza. Rowan makes a mental note before clearing her throat to speak.

“The Elders have decided to be on your side for this. Damarius and his son were discredited, meaning they weren’t believed by the Elders, and his boys should leave you alone. You’re not in trouble.”

Serena doesn’t believe it at first. She continues looking at her mother until it all sinks in and then she cracks a smile. The weight on her shoulders disappears, and she sags against the table for only a moment. Then she realizes what this means and straightens her back for her mother to continue on. 

“They asked that you keep yourself in control,” Rowan finishes the final sentence, grinning at her daughter. 

“Control of what?” Clair demands to know, interrupting Serena’s moment of happiness.

Worry takes its place as Serena realizes that this is the moment she has been practicing for. Now she’s going to have to tell everyone that is present. Her blue eyes fly to her mother’s, looking for support. Rowan gives her daughter a small nod to encourage her, her light blue eyes fill Serena with hope and warmth. Her mother is always right. There hasn’t been a time that she wasn’t, and, to Serena, that gives her the strength to answer Clair. 

“M-my powers,” she starts with a deep breath. “I pulled you out of the water...”

Serena starts in on how she saved them and what happened at her last school. The words come out in a rush and some tears do manage to escape. However, she makes it all the way to the end when her voice dies down, and it’s silent. Lance and Clair glance at each other. Neither had expected her story to be as intense as it was. They could barely believe that it had actually happened to Serena. The girl they loved, the one who made them happy by just being present, had all these terrible things happen to her. Things that made her wary of who she got close to and what she had to be thinking in order to not make their desks go flying. 

Clair is the first to speak. She leans forward on the table, and everyone watches her. Her parents watch with wary eyes while the Wataru’s watch with tense apprehension for whatever the little girl has to say. Lance watches his cousin, knowing exactly what she will say because he’s thinking the same thing, and it’s not often that he and Clair can’t read each other.

“So, can you lift us up again?” 

Serena starts at the words, wiping off the last of her tears and glancing at the two as if they had grown two heads each. With those words, she feels as though Ishihara’s terrified face is miles away, almost forgotten in her mind. Simple words, uttered with the possibility of seriousness. Neither of them found her dangerous, which is what she sees herself as. Instead, they see it as a way to play and don’t mind it. Maybe she isn’t something to be feared...

“I mean, if you want to,” Clair leans back, self conscious, thinking she should have let the adults respond first. 

“I can, but I shouldn’t,” Serena finally answers. There’s a hopeful smile on her face. 

Lance and Clair perk up and the kids begin talking in a flurry of questions, asking whether she can read their minds, lift up the entire school, or see into the future. Serena finds herself breathless by the end of it all. She’s only gotten to talk to her mother about what she can do, and, even then, it felt like a taboo to do so. With these two, it’s like a new discovery that they can’t wait to research. 

“No matter what,” Clair’s mother interrupts the questions, her smile is wide and her shoulders are relaxed. “We still love and accept you. We’re grateful you were there to save our daughter and Lance.”

Serena nods, smiling at the woman and holding back more tears as the other adults thank and hug her. She feels warmth unfurl in her chest, and though it’s accompanied by an odd ache, she relaxes and decides that this is as close as she can get to being normal, to being the Serena she was before this happened. That girl feels so far away, she can’t even remember who she was then. 

A fleeting thought whizzes by, and she hears the voice say, just as it had so long ago, “ _ Who am I?” _

In response, as if on instinct, Serena thinks about how the voice almost answered its own question. 

_ I am ready to be. _


	11. Quintessence

“Rena, can you pass me the scissors?” Clair holds out her hand across the table for them. 

Putting down her paintbrush, Serena slides the scissors across the table, and then frowns at Clair’s disappointed look. Their art elective is as dry as the paint on her canvas, but Clair was told she needed to find a safer outlet to curb her anger. So, of course, Serena had to join her in the endeavor to better herself. 

“What?” the brunette glances around the large art room while the other kids work on their own projects. 

“You didn’t have to put down your brush,” Clair grins in that way of hers, too wide to be innocent, but bright enough to fool others into thinking so. 

Serena rolls her eyes and huffs. “No.”

“Come on, the other kids love it when you do that freaky mind stuff,” the blue haired girl giggles. 

“Yeah, but that’s because they can’t do psychic movements, and there are so few others.”

“It’s what got you in after... Well, anyways,” Clair swallows a lump in her throat, turning back to her paper project as she talks. “Are you nervous for tonight?”

Serena puckers her lips at the thoughts she knows are running through Clair’s mind. Ever since they fell through the ice, the students at school had the opposite reaction they expected, and it surprised every one of them. Asher and Ryder were accepted back into their smaller circle, but the rest of the class either paid no mind to Serena, or they spoke with her daily. It was a pleasant surprise to Serena, but she took their attempts at friendship in stride. 

Lance and Clair were protective of her and made sure that any attempts were made in earnest. So far, she has some ‘class friends’ as Clair described them. Friends that will talk to her as long as they share a class and may be in need of study buddies. Whatever the name, Serena enjoys having some others around when her two favorites aren’t there. 

The attention was well received, and while she knew it was because she was more like them now than she was before, Serena didn’t mind the new people in her life. Now that they’re older, many of the people that bullied her are often coming to her to learn about their own abilities. Blackthorn’s bloodlines have traces of other powers that a few of the kids are developing. Most of it has to do with dragon types in some way. Whether it’s control over them or being able to sense one nearby, it’s something the Elders are proud of. If there is anything Serena has learned, it’s that if it makes the Elders proud, she should do it.

“I’m not nervous. I passed the written test,” Serena watches Clair slice through the paper with a careless glance. 

“I remember, third in the class,” she wiggles a brow at her. “Right behind Lance and me.”

“Next time I’ll get you.” 

The bell rings above them, and the girls scramble to get their things put away. The other kids in their class file out of the room, their cheery voices ringing in the hallways as the school begins to empty out. Many of the other students have already left on their journeys. Ten years old and already out on their own. Serena felt that was a little too young and decided to stay. Lance hasn’t left yet, and she’s not sure why.

Although his life choices are the last thing on her mind as tonight's the night she’s been waiting a few months for. The big test, a dragon test, is issued every year, and only a select few students are allowed to take it. They have to be nominated by someone in the community not related to them and an Elder must approve it. Clair’s mother nominated Serena and their grandfather approved it. The situation was similar for the other two, only Rowan couldn’t nominate anyone as she is one of the administrators of the test. Apparently, Serena’s mother has a reputation for being a tough teacher, and Serena had no idea until Lance’s first ever exam from her. Can’t take the University way of testing out of her, Serena had said with a laugh. 

Now all she has left is the honor of a lifetime: receiving one of the clan’s prized Dratini from the Elders themselves. There were tests to pass, and she studied harder than ever to do so. Her hard work paid off, and many people were not happy with her for surpassing them. But now she gets another pokemon and another way to keep the clan from being on her tail. 

“What are you wearing tonight?” Clair wonders as they grab their things from their lockers. 

“We have those formal clothes we have to wear, don’t we?” Serena replies.

“Well, yeah, but everyone’s looks different,” Clair states as if it were obvious, but to Serena it wasn’t. 

She understands the basics of the clan of Blackthorn. A bunch of rich families come together with their own family symbols, sayings, and special skills to live in one place and become powerful dragon taming families for generations to come. What she didn’t get was why they insisted on being one large clan with smaller sub categories in it. 

Her family, the Lockwoods, are known for being the peacekeeping family. For generations, they became the liaisons between dragon tamers and non dragon tamers that had hunted dragons for years. They’re a well known family that had such a good place in the clan. Her mother has been preparing for this ceremony for years since they moved back, and if there were ever a time to repair the damage done it was now. Her appearance was critical as it would be seen by all the Elders and other families. Everything she does is nitpicked, and Serena hates it.

One good award could barely negate one mistake. The incident with Asher was a lucky break, and only because it saved two of the head elder’s grandkids. If it were anyone else, she would have only been thanked and shunned once more by the other families. She didn’t get it before, but as she grew older, she finally understood. Appearance is everything to the Blackthorn Clan, and her display was a show of power to the Elders.

“I’m not sure, my mom has been working on an outfit for me,” Serena finally replies, putting her combination into her locker. She lets the slim door swing open and grabs her books to bring home and replaces them with her art stuff. 

The hallway is swarming with kids, all of them talking about the latest gossip and none of them talking about her. She likes it that way. She was sick of their stares, jostling her on purpose as she tried to get to class. Now, she only has to deal with Asher or Ryder making snide comments under their breath and occasionally snickering at her at lunch. Thinking of them seems to summon them. Ever since that day at the lake, Serena always knows when they’re near. 

“Hey, Chubs. Ready for the ceremony tonight?” Asher starts, and Serena forces herself to bite her tongue.

“Leave her alone, Asher,” Clair sneers at him, stomping one foot towards him. 

He glances at Clair and rolls his eyes at her before stepping to Serena’s right where Clair can’t get to him as easily. His body looms over Serena as she does her best to ignore him while fixing her backpack. Despite what happened, Asher was easily welcomed back into his friend group aside from Lance. He’s star of the basketball team and aims to be Pokemon Champion one day. His bigger size intimidates Serena only because she can’t protect herself physically. In other areas, such as intelligence, she’s fine. 

“Don’t think you’re so special because you have clan blood. Your parents dirtied it and you will do the same,” he threatens.

Serena can’t help but snort. “I’d be treated the same way I am now. It’s not so bad. The biggest downside is seeing you more often than I want.”

Despite the laugh she gets from Clair, Serena regrets saying those words when she feels Asher grab her collar to lift her up and push her into her locker. The sides of the narrow opening dig into her skin, she doesn’t fit and it makes her cheeks burn. He knows this and smiles at her. 

“What’s wrong, Chubs? Shouldn’t have eaten that cake today, huh?” he mutters, inches from her face. 

“No, but you should have eaten that mint,” she coughs back. 

He grunts in frustration and rears his hand up to punch her. Her heart begins to race as the fury in his eyes flares. He’s going to do it. Clair leaps into action only to be held back by Ryder and some other boy Serena doesn’t recognize. By now, some of the kids in the hallway have stopped and are watching the situation escalate. 

“Asher!” a male voice shouts. Serena flinches as a tall and dark haired boy shoves Asher away. “Get out of here.”

Asher doesn’t look scared, only disappointed to be interrupted. He beckons to his friends to release Clair. With one last glare at Serena, the trio disappear into the hallway as the other students resume their departure, leaving now that the drama is done. Serena slides to her knees and begins to pick up her things, wiping at the tears on her face. 

“Don’t listen to him,” Jax kneels down and helps her grab her books. “Lance says he’ll meet you guys at the Den later.”

Serena nods her head, zipping up her bag, and takes a deep breath. “Thanks, Jax.”

“It’s no problem,” the olive skinned boy grins at her. He’s becoming handsome, she can see with his tan skin, dark hair, and light colored eyes. All the girls are swooning over him and Lance whenever the two are walking down the halls together. She can see why, but she doesn’t really seem to be that affected by their looks. Maybe it’s because she knows them so well. “Congrats on passing your exams.”

“Thanks, you too,” she smiles and waves goodbye as he moves on. 

“Do you like him?” Clair doesn’t waste a second to ask, closing her own bag and locker. 

Serena slams her locker shut and shrugs. “Not really. I think he’s cute, but… I have zero chance even if I did.”

“Why would you say that? You’re so smart!” 

“Right, thanks,” Serena turns on her heel and heads towards her mother’s classroom on the other side of the building. 

Clair comes up on her left. “Is it because of what Asher says all the time?”

“No,” Serena stumbles in her footing, and Clair knows she’s right. 

“Listen, you’re not fat…”

“Don’t patronize me. I am fat.”

“Okay, fine. But that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Besides, a lot of people still have their baby fat.”

Serena pouts and glances at her stomach. “Mine seems more like forever fat.”

“Stop it,” Clair smacks her shoulder. “If you don’t like it, how about you and I work it off?”

“I’ll think about it,” the darker haired girl replies. She doesn’t like talking about her appearance when so many others can hear and judge her. 

The two come up to her mother’s room and are about to separate when Clair grabs Serena’s arm and takes her aside. Her blue eyes are cold as she stares into Serena’s darker eyes. “Listen, I see how you are eating less and less, and that’s not right. Not eating doesn’t help anything. If you want to make changes, then I’ll help you. But if you don’t start eating, I’ll tell your mother.”

“I’m not a child,” Serena snaps, taking back her arm. She sighs and glances at Clair before turning around. “I’ll see you soon…”

The other girl leaves with a muttered goodbye. Serena takes a deep breath and plasters a smile on her face before entering her mother’s classroom. Younger kids run past Serena on their way out, not really paying attention to her as she makes her way over to her mother. 

Rowan’s light hair is pulled back into a ponytail and she’s wearing a floral dress with black pumps and a dark blue cardigan. Her slim body looks perfect, and it makes Serena grimace at the image of both of them standing next to each other. 

“What happened?” Rowan interrupts her thoughts, catching Serena’s grimace and tear stained face. 

“Oh, it was Asher, but Jax took care of it,” Serena flushes at being caught so fast. “I’m fine, I promise.”

“Are you sure?” Rowan swings her book bag over her shoulder and grabs the house keys. 

“I promise, Mom,” Serena rolls her eyes as the two make their way out of the school among the crowd of students. 

The walk home is short and Serena doesn’t speak the entire way back. Once they enter the house, Rowan gets dinner started and Serena scurries to her room. With the door shut, she finds herself feeling empty. There’s not a single emotion she can find within herself to gauge her situation. She drops her bag on the floor and changes into some sweats and a t-shirt. 

Soon enough the aroma of food cooking in the kitchen fills Serena’s room and she clutches her growling stomach. The thought of eating, after skipping lunch, is overpowering. Her mouth waters at the smells coming from downstairs. She should eat. She  _ has  _ to. It’s as Clair said, not eating doesn’t help anything. 

Serena stands and shuffles across the room, she passes a mirror on the way and stops to stare at her reflection. Her build is an awkward cross between lanky and stubby, like she attempted to stretch got caught halfway and is trying to morph back into her original shape. For being 15, she reminds herself that she’s growing and should get over this stage. At least that’s what her mother told her. So far, Serena isn’t believing it. With her luck, she’ll be like this forever. An outcast in her own clan, fat, and freakish.

_ Being fat doesn’t make you a bad person. _

It’s true. Serena doesn’t think that the older, bigger woman on the end of the street is a bad person. She’s incredibly sweet, and always gives Serena a flower when she walks by. Apparently she used to watch her mother when she was younger, and the woman encouraged Rowan to follow her heart. What Serena can’t seem to get past is why is it okay for other people to be big but it’s not for her. 

“Sweetie! Time to eat!” Rowan calls from downstairs. 

Serena tears her gaze away from the mirror and holds in a deep breath as she exits her room. Beyond the food, Serena can hear the chatter of her parents in the kitchen, by way of their muttering, she knows not to turn that way. Instead, she scurries forward and left to the dining room. The murmurs don’t stop as her parents make their way in behind her. She watches them gesture and mutter at each other, her mother’s movements are more open while her father’s are more short cut and firm.

Finally they decide on something and face their daughter with a mix of emotions. Open, calm, sad, and firm. 

“What?” Serena breaks the silence. 

“We want to talk with you, Sweetie,” Rowan starts, taking a spot across the table with her husband right beside her. 

Serena swallows a lump in her throat as the back of her mind tickles, but scratching it meant invading her parents’ privacy. 

“We understand that you haven’t been eating much lately,” Aaron dives right in and Serena flinches. 

“Honey, it’s okay. You’re not in trouble,” Rowan reaches out to her daughter, past the plates to grasp her hand. “We just want to help.”

Serena takes a deep exhale and glances between the two of them. She feels a small sense of relief as well as a bit of fear. Her hands begin to tremble in her mother’s hand. 

“We understand that there has been bullying from Asher and his friends. what they say to you is terrible. But Serena, not eating isn’t going to help. You’re a growing girl, and you deserve to eat food as much as anyone else,” Rowan tightens her grip. “I’m going to change the foods I make. You’ll eat healthier, and have some more filling snacks. No more not eating.”

“We’re here for you,” Aaron agrees, smiling at his daughter. “What do you say?”

Serena watches them and knows that, technically, she has no choice in the matter. They’re her parents, and they’ve never gone back on their word before. Whether she says yes or no, she’ll be eating better. But then again, there’s nothing wrong with what they want because it’s exactly what she wants. She just felt too embarrassed to ask them about it before. 

“I’m okay with that,” she finally decides with a slight smile on her face. Her shoulders droop in relief, and her parents grin. 

“Good, now eat up,” Rowan pulls away and uncovers the platters filled with bright colored veggies, fluffy rice, and meat. “You have a big night tonight.”

Serena wants to ask about what she’s going to wear, but her mind is too preoccupied by the food to really care. Instead, she fills her plate with food and munches away. Her parents watch her as they talk amongst each other. She pays them no mind and completes her meal with a satisfied smile.

“What am I wearing tonight?” she speaks up while putting the dishes away in the dishwasher. 

“The same dress I wore when I passed the Dragon Test,” Rowan grins. 

The thought unnerved Serena as well as warmed her. She wasn’t sure if her mom was completely serious. Is it the exact same one? Wasn’t that a long time ago? Or one like it made to fit her? Either way, Serena knows that her mother would have worn something beautiful, and that’s what she wants to be tonight: beautiful in the face of the clan. 

 

**_OoOoO_ **

The Dragon’s Den sits at the base of a steep, rocky incline. Serena was told long ago that it was carved into the small mountain it resides within. Carved by the ancient people that lived amongst others in Johto. They made it along with their dragon companions as a symbol of their peace to one another. These people’s resilience in carving into the mountain is what set them apart from the rest of those in Johto. This is what makes the Blackthorn Clans so well respected. 

The story is long and has many different versions. Serena isn’t sure if it’s true or not, but it sounds cool to her either way. 

All the families in the city have gathered for this occasion. Well, the main branch of families, the ones who are direct descendants of the first clans to settle here. Everyone is dressed in their best, showing off their money, style, and pokemon. The sprawling lake between the city and the den is filled with water types and dragon types to ferry families across. A few flying types soar overhead, their wings creating a gentle beat in the late afternoon.

Serena touches the hem of her dress beneath the black coat her mother bought for her. Behind her, her parents watch the enclosing families with tight smiles and calculating eyes. This is the first major event that the main branch of families will be present for, and they want to appear well put together. Tonight is the night they will prove to everyone that they deserve to be there and are part of the inner clan as well as the entire Blackthorn clan. 

Aaron releases his Salamence and the family soars above the dark water with the others towards the den entrance. 

Flames light up the pathway up to the cave, there’s a rumbling murmur as families greet each other and comment on their outfits. As the Lockwood family lands, the murmur dulls and eyes turn to them. Serena keeps her eyes on her mother as the three walk forward. No one in the outside crowd moves to greet them except for three families; the Wataru’s, the Ibuki’s, and Jax’s family.

“Glad you could make it!” Wesley booms, shattering the careful silence. 

His voice knocks Serena out of her fear and breaks a smile across her face. He winks at her before patting her father on the back. The adults merge together, and the kids take their place ahead of them, leading the way inside. Clair and Lance take up their normal spots on either side of Serena with Jax on Lance’s right. 

“Nervous?” Clair nudges Serena with a mischievous grin.

“Of course,” Serena mutters back. “Aren’t you guys?”

“Not at all,” Lance smiles, lifting his chin a bit. 

It occurs to Serena that it makes sense for them to take pleasure on this night. This isn’t their moment of truth. The moment where the clan will either accept them into their ranks or still alienate them because they’re already accepted within it. This night is drastically different for the three of them. For them, it’s a reward for their hard work. For her, it’s an initiation. 

Torches light the wide entryway as they enter the den, the smell of water hits Serena’s nostrils before she hears the sound of water churning. She hasn’t been inside the den before, another reason for her to be nervous, and is shocked to see lake inside. The whooshing sound is a large whirlpool in the middle of the lake, in front of a large shrine facing them on the other side. The group of families have stopped and wait while staring at seemingly nothing. 

“What are we staring at?” Serena whispers to Clair who points forward and upwards. 

Squinting, Serena follows her finger to see a Dragonite floating above the whirlpool as if waiting for something. Her gaze drops a fraction and she sees an elderly man standing at the shrine. For a second, she swears he’s staring right at her, but the distance is too great to be sure. She keeps up her gaze, taking in his pristine white beard and navy blue clothing. Everything else is too blurred for her to see correctly. 

The crowd silences, drawing her gaze back to her parents. 

Her mother winks at her and turns her attention back towards the front. 

“Look!” Clair gasps, grasping Serena’s arm as there was a sudden shout lost over the sound of the whirlpool. 

The dragonite lets out a roar and swoops towards the whirlpool, its wings begin to glow blue as it swoops around and begins to fly in a furious circle. Above the water, a whirlpool takes form before falling beneath the surface. The two whirlpools clash, creating a plume of water before the second whirlpool manages to dissipate the first. Serena watches in awe as the waters go from furious thrashing to a calm and gentle rhythm.

“You may cross!” the elderly man calls from across the lake and families begin their ascent. 

One by one they manage to cross the lake in a more orderly fashion than outside. Ten families, from which ten children are chosen from across the school to participate in tonight’s activity. Suddenly it feels like so many more. 

The wooden shrine stands strong on a large plot of land in the middle of the lake. It easily supports the weight of the families and their pokemon as they are gathered at the long walkway leading up to the main entrance. The shrine was made hundreds of years ago, and every few years it gets renovated so that it doesn’t deteriorate. This time, the statues of old dragon types sit outside the main doors. They look like dragonites, like a drawing of a dragonite seen by an outsider. 

Torches light either side of the walkway and entrance as Serena follows the other families in with her own. The inside is dim and crowded with a large square center. Not big enough for a battle field, but enough to fit the five Elders and their pokemon. Along the upper part of the shrine sit stands big enough for the ten families to take a seat. Serena takes a seat on the inside of her parents and next to Clair’s mom. 

Silence settles over the small crowd as the elders come into view below, all of them wearing long dark robes. They stand in a triangle formation in the middle of the square. In their hands they hold small square boxes. The flames around the square flicker in their presence and those too seem to settle down. In the corner of her eye, Serena spots the dragonite from earlier come in and stand at the entrance. 

“Welcome all,” the elder at the bottom right of the triangle speaks first. His voice fills the inside of the shrine well, Serena feels as if she’s standing right next to him. “Congratulations to all the children in Blackthorn as well.”

There’s a quiet round of applause from everyone. Serena tries to smile, but it comes out strained from nerves. Next to her, Clair’s mother nudges her arm and winks, her grin helping Serena take a deep breath. She deserves to be here just as much as the other kids. She got there on her own.

“This ceremony has been done for generations. It is important to us as a clan and our culture,” another elder, more towards the point, turns his head left and right to address all the families. “That is why we test our children to see if they are ready. This ceremony is centuries old, and is at the very core of our clan’s existence. It cannot just be given to anyone who wants it, it must be worked towards, so that they can be trusted,” he pauses for a quick moment in his speech to signal to the other elders to open their boxes. There’s a whoosh from the crowd as pokeballs shine the fiery light back to the kids. Serena’s heart races at the sight of them and she feels her heart take a leap. “Trusted with our clan’s finest dragons.”

One by one for the next hour and half, the kids are called up and are given a speech by an elder as to why they were chosen and what their family stands for. Serena loses track of time until it comes time for Clair to go. The young woman keeps her chin held high as she sheds her cloak and saunters to the front as if it were her right and not a privilege. Serena remembers Clair talking about these rituals. She despises them. ‘We’re not buried in the past,’ she’d always say. When she becomes a gym leader and a more respected member of the clan, she wants to move to revoke these traditions and come up with more modern ones. 

Until then, she’s stuck in that beautiful teal dress her mother bought for her in Goldenrod. It’s stunning on Clair’s body. She’s always been athletic and thick, so the dress hugs her curves just right. Clair’s chin length hair fall pin straight with her bangs pulled back to reveal her face. On her feet are black flats that are soundless as she glides up to her great-grandfather.

The old man’s booming voice welcomes his own blood to the circle. The words exchanged are kind, he’s proud of his great-granddaughter for all that she has done and hopes to see her excel as a trainer. Serena watches with pride as Clair bows her head and accepts the pokeball. The smile on her face is fierce, and it’s clear that she has many plans for herself and her new pokemon. 

As soon as Clair takes her place beside Serena, she fastens her cloak back on and clutches the pokeball for dear life. Her hands tremble from excitement, and Serena fights back her own smile as Lance is called up next. 

His cloak stays fastened, only it opens up as he steps into the aisle of the seats to reveal a dark red and black suit. He walks down with an air of arrogance, his head held high, his chest thrust out, his arms swinging and his lips set into an overly wide smile. Unlike his cousin, Lance looks as though it’s a privilege to watch  _ him _ get his pokemon. It comes as no surprise to the girls. Clair hides her snicker with a cough while Serena is too scared to make a sound and just cracks a small smile. 

Once again, their Elder remarks on his pride for his grandchildren, and his hopes for their future. When Lance gets his pokemon, his bow is short, and he is quick to take the pokeball. Behind them, Serena feels his mother shift in her seat, and she forces herself to stay looking towards the front. 

As Lance comes back to his seat, he flashes the girls a big smile with his pokeball in hand. Serena’s stomach churns as he watches the two marvel at their pokemon. She nearly misses her name being called. The audience grows deathly silent, she can hear the water churning right outside the shrine.

Her heart has been drumming, her eyes flying all over the place, and her palms sweaty beyond belief. Beside her, her parents seem unaffected on the outside. But within, they’re gauging everyone’s reactions when it is Lance and Clair’s grandfather that calls out Serena’s name. 

The elders choose what pokemon to give to a specific child. All thought that Rowan’s father would give Serena her pokemon, but he had given both his pokeballs to other children in the clan. Not a strange occurrence, but unexpected.

At the sound of his voice, Serena starts, almost falling out of her seat. Her mother reaches over to steady her and helps her stand. Rowan tugs the robe off her daughter to reveal a beautiful navy blue dress that falls to her ankles. The neckline reaches up, covering her chest and wrapping around her neck and down her back, hiding her scars while looking mysterious and stylish. Around her middle sits a silver belt with a design like flames sewed onto the dress. From the belt to the bottom of the skirt are sequins looking like falling sparks. 

Clair’s small gasp of adoration fuels Serena to lift her chin and begin her descent to the square. All eyes in the room are on her as she makes her way towards her acceptance into the clan. Each child got a Dratini with a different attribute. Lance’s is stubborn as his family is known for their strength, Clair’s is tempermental as her family is about understanding and Jax’s is clever as his family aims to see the simple side of life. What will hers be? Her family’s aim to be kind to all, not everyone’s story is easy going and simple.

As she approaches him, the elder begins his speech with a smile on his face and in his voice. 

“You are the most patient one here,” the elder speaks. “This clan has shown nothing but resentment towards you. Every day has been a struggle. Our rules are strict and verdicts even more so, but our forgiveness is easy to come by, not at first and not all at once. But here, today, you have passed your test surpassing most of your classmates and peers. Today, you have shown that your family is worthy of redemption, and if that does not align with your family’s ideals, then none of us would be here.”

Serena holds her breath as he steps closer and offers the pokeball to her. She bows her head, a slow and gentle bow, and accepts it. Clutching the little device in her hand so tight she’s sure it’ll break.

“To you, I give the runt of the litter,” he speaks with a grin. She feels a bit of warmth touch her cheeks as snorts are heard from the crowd. The elder glances around before speaking again. “Why? Because no one expects much from the runt except failure, and so they alienate it. Just as you have been treated so by the clan. But you have risen far beyond the expectations placed upon you and done more than ever thought possible. And like you, your little runt will rise above our expectations and become a powerful pokemon.”

Her vision blurs with tears, but she manages to hide them as she nods and makes her way back to her seat. Her hands trembling while clutching the pokeball, wondering if what he said was true and if she could really make it happen. Clair tugs on one of her curls, and holds up her own little ball. They knock them together in a toast and share calm smiles. 

The closing ceremony is quick. They chant an old song that the ancestor’s used to welcome new members into the clan. At the end, the flames lighting the hall turn a radiant blue. There’s a round of ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s as the crowd watches the lighting change with wonder. There’s a clang of a bell and everyone is dismissed. 

After the ceremony, Lance’s and Clair’s families come over for a celebratory midnight dinner and drinks. The adults are jovial and laughter blooms within the house, adding to the warm glow of the chandelier in the main room. Music plays softly in the background, allowing for pauses in talk without any awkward moments ensuing. Some smaller pokemon sit idly around the house, examining its contents or merely sleeping while their owners talk amongst each other. 

Outside, on the back patio, Serena sits with Lance and Clair as the two examine their dratini. Dratini are long, large pokemon, reaching lengths exceeding five feet most times. But these ones are small, maybe no more than two or three. This is because they are newly hatched and have yet to be trained in this world. Looking at them now, Serena is nervous to see how small her dratini is if it’s considered the runt. 

“You’re gonna be so strong one day,” Lance mutters to his pokemon, rubbing the top of his head with a smile. “You and I are gonna take on the world.” 

The dragon type hums in response as if challenging Lance to go back on his word, or maybe encouraging him to be the best he can be. 

Clair’s arms are crossed and she’s got a frown on her face as she gauges her pokemon. She looks back at her trainer before turning away with a ‘humph’ and going off to relax by the garden. Rather than go after her, Clair waves off her pokemon before turning back to Lance and Serena. 

She looks at Serena with a grin, “So, let’s see yours.”

Serena swallows a lump in her throat and glances down at the ball in her hand. It suddenly feels warm and ready to explode. She looks at her friends and, at their nods of encouragement, she pushes the button on the side of the pokeball and watches as it enlarges in her hand. She nearly drops it with how quickly it grew and tries to cover her embarrassment with a laugh. Lance and Clair snicker at her.

“Shhh,” Serena glares at them before tossing the ball into the air. 

It pops open, releasing a bright light that splashes onto the ground before her. The pokeball glides back into her hand. It closes around the device on habit as her eyes stay glued to the light. Slowly, it takes the form of a serpentine-like animal before fading to the colors of a dratini just barely two feet long and much smaller than the others. 

Serena gauges the pokemon, taking in her pale scales, dark eyes, and white fins on her head. Dratini looks back at her and the two have a moment of connection, of understanding as Serena sees just why the elder’s would give this one to her. She is much too small to be able to fight anything bigger than Ty, just like Serena was too young to take on the clan on her own, but she did. 

And Dratini will learn to fight. Staring into her eyes right now, Serena knows that she will be a powerful partner. 


	12. Time & Life

Eight years. 

Eight years since she had been taken away and her life tossed around, since her family moved to live in a clan that didn’t want them and treated her as if she was a plague. She had started off with no friends and only her parents as her family. Life was bleak and she was sure she wasn’t going to make it far. 

In those eight years, she’s learned to control her new psychic powers, gained two best friends through thick and thin, two pokemon who are her bases, and she has proved her and her family to be part of the clan. Eight years later and she can show her face around the city without worrying about adults sneering at her and children shoving her aside. There may still be some bad blood but many of the families have come to accept the Lockwoods as part of the clan. 

With each return of her birthday, Serena gets a little uneasy. She’s not worried about being kidnapped again, no way, not here in Blackthorn. This time she’ll be able to fend off her crazed uncle and his goons. Instead it has to do with her mind and the dreams it creates. 

She’s not sure whether they’re her own dreams or someone else’s with how muddled and confusing they are. Images of gorgeous landscapes fill her mind as if she’s been there before, lived there with pokemon for months. Other times she can hear voices, their words garbled as if she were underwater, and her vision dark as if she were blindfolded. Those dreams leave her head pounding. Other times she feels a slight breeze over her face as she faces the sun with her eyes closed. Far off in the distance, she can hear someone talking to her, but she can barely hear their voice or what they say. But every time the breeze flutters by she can catch a bit of a laugh. Those dreams leave her heart aching when she wakes up and she never understands why. 

This morning is no different with a dream about a dark place and a vast emptiness in her chest. In her mind, as if the memories were her own, she recalled someone helping her with something. As vague as that sounds, she suspects it was important because that memory brings her happiness, just a tiny spark of warmth in the cold darkness surrounding her. 

The scars on her back ache as she slips on skinny jeans and a v-neck shirt. She pulls her long hair back into a quick sloppy braid before heading down the stairs to breakfast. The dream is part of most of her mornings and this one, just like the others, is pushed to the back of her mind in order to focus on herself on this day. At least until the next weird occurrence. 

“Happy birthday!” Rowan greets her daughter with a flurry of confetti and a crown. She places the crown carefully on Serena’s head and pushes a cupcake with a single, lit candle, into her daughter’s hands. “My little princess is turning sixteen, where has the time gone?”

Serena giggles blowing on the candle. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Don’t forget about me!” Aaron bursts from the kitchen with a heaping plate of food in his hands. “Happy birthday, my love!” He plants a kiss on her head and turns to place the plate on the table. He pulls out a chair for her and gestures for her to take a seat. “I made all your favorites... with your mother’s help, of course.”

Rowan rolls her eyes in a joking manner at her husband before they take a seat on either side of her. “There’s gonna be a small party like you wanted, cake, pokemon and friends.”

“That sounds perfect,” Serena admits portioning out her food and digging in. 

She and her mother carefully planned out her day, so that she would feel safe and in control of the day’s events. Aaron, after making a few work calls and runs, has managed to get some extra security around the house without his daughter knowing. At least, that’s what he believes. She’s known since the thought was implanted in his mind, but hasn’t said a thing to spare his feelings... Or maybe it was to spare her own, extra security provides her with a sense of comfort. 

“You’re sixteen and starting your journey soon,” Aaron discusses at the table. 

Her mother nods. “Yes and you’re ready, right?”

“I just have to pack,” Serena confirms. “Wynn and Ty are pretty pumped. They’re getting stronger too.”

“That they are,” Aaron nods in agreement. “Are you?”

“Only one way to find out, right?” she grins at him in return. “I’m nervous about all the walking. I’m not gonna make it far.”

“Not everyone makes it far in their first week,” Aaron reassures her. “As long as you can break up your miles and do the best that you can, you’ll be just fine.”

“And don’t forget to call...Everyday,” Rowan states with a firm nod. 

“I’ll do my best,” Serena sighs, not sounding enthusiastic about that at all. 

Her parents leave her be to get ready for her school day. With graduation coming up and a bunch of preparation to be made for their send off, Serena and Lance have been busy keeping their grades up, training their pokemon and taking walks. Walking everywhere they can even if they don’t want to. It’s said that the hardest part of being a trainer is walking almost everywhere when there’s no other mode of transportation available. Exhaustion is the main reason many have been close to death on their journeys. 

Despite her exercising, Serena is still a bit worried about her image. She’s gotten better about eating and has tried her best to go to wrestling with Clair, but that’s just not for her. She hopes her journey will be kind and grant her some rise to sudden beauty. 

“Birthday girl!” Clair calls as Serena exits her front gates. She turns to see the blue haired girl skipping over to her with Lance and Jax not far behind. Serena smiles as Clair gathers her up into a tight hug and spins her around. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks,” she giggles.

“You still have to go to school on your birthday?” Clair nudges her with her elbow. “That sucks.”

“My parents offered, but I want to go to school,” Serena shrugs with a roll of her eyes. “Some of us have to  _ try _ to do good in school, you know.”

Clair clutches her chest as if struck, “I try.”

“Whatever.”

Lance and Jax catch up by then and the four of them begin their stroll towards the school. 

“Happy birthday,” Lance beams at her, patting her on the back. “Glad you could grace us with your presence today.”

“You’re welcome,” she grins right back. “I had to let you peasants know that I truly care about you.”

The four share a laugh as they come up on the school. After all these years, Serena can’t believe the slight sense of belonging she has to this place. Maybe it’s because her mother works there or the memories she has of her, Clair and Lance against the entire school during the start of her time there. She doesn’t dwell on it for long though, as the first bell rings and they rush to class. 

“Serena!” Jax calls out as she turns to head towards her trainer class. She pauses and half turns to see him catching up to her with a grin on his face. Other kids in the hallway turn at the sudden exclamation and begin to whisper. Her cheeks flare up at the attention, but she forgets it as he falls into step with her. He shoves his hands into his pockets and grins. “Happy birthday.”

“Oh, thanks,” she smiles, brushing back a stray strand of hair. “Are you ready for the test today?”

“Am I ever?” he replies in a light tone. 

Serena laughs realizing that over the past few months she’s gotten to know Jax well after saving Clair and Lance. It’s as if they came to a mutual understanding about their mutual friends. As long as the other keeps them safe and happy, they, too, can get along. Not that she’s gonna complain. 

She doesn’t have a crush on him, but being around him causes others to leave her alone. He’s a good kid. He has opinions on almost everything and tries to be a mediator whenever there’s a fight. This is true academically too. Just barely scoring below her on many of their shared exams and tests. He pretends that he’s not, but it’s just a modest cover of his hard work ethic. 

The class they’re heading to now is the advanced ones for students graduating at the end of the year. It teaches them how to survive, how to care for their pokemon and tips for traveling. The tests are written and require every detail told in class to get them completely right. It’s the most tedious of her classes and Serena cannot wait for it to be over. 

So far, Jax has shown to be a good study buddy. He’s got a good memory for terms and she has a good memory for showing processes. While everything is common sense, neither of them think it hurts to be prepared. After all, while on your journey, anything can happen. 

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Serena knew that something was going to happen the minute she stepped foot into her house again. It started with a small headache that turned into her scars aching as she got ready for her small party. It’s a feeling that’s impossible to shake now that it has started and she is annoyed. Every single year something has to go wrong, one year her headache was so bad the party was cancelled, the next year her father was out after her uncle for some crime and came up empty after days of searching. Every year it’s something she doesn’t see coming and, sure enough, this time she can’t figure out what’s going on this year.

The dreams she can handle, the aches she can deal with, the headaches she can deal with too. But all of this together? No. It’s enough to get her to cancel the party. 

“I’m sorry, baby, but it’s a little late to do that,” Rowan grimaces at her daughter’s pained face. “Everyone’s on their way here.”  
“Ugh!” she groans, clutching her head. “Okay, I’m just gonna take some medicine then.”

“Do you wanna meditate quick?” Rowan calls after her as she leaves the dining room to go to the kitchen. 

“I won’t be able to concentrate,” she replies with a sigh. 

Crockpots and containers filled to the brim with steaming foods sit atop the granite counters of the kitchen waiting to be dug into. Serena passes them by, swiping a buttery bun on her way to the cabinet next to the sink. It melts in her mouth as she pulls out two white pills and chases it all with cold water. She breathes heavily over the sink, her breaths matching that of the pounding in her head and the pulsing in her scars. She fights to slow it down, concentrating on her breaths.

_ It’s just one night. It’s your day, you can make it. _

The affirmation does nothing to soothe her nerves, just as it didn’t the last few times. But Serena is willing to pretend to believe it and goes about her business taste testing everything on the counters. She never had huge parties in the past, just get togethers with Lance and Clair and then her parents. It’s not like she wanted more, her little parties were more than enough for her especially after her last big party.

_ Knock, knock, knock.  _

She starts at the sound, dropping a bit of sauce on the floor. Before she can clean it up, Ty swoops in and licks it up with a happy cry. A smile touches her face at the sight of her frolicking pokemon as she bends over to pick him up. He’s gained some weight since she first got him, and his training with her father’s pokemon has given him some muscle and tough skin. 

“Serena! Your guests are here!”

Her mother’s words send her springing into action, darting out of the kitchen and to the front entryway to see Clair, her parents, with Lance, and his parents, piling into their house with presents. The sight brings on a wave of warmth into her chest, pushing out the anxieties dragging her downward. 

“Rena!” Clair exclaims, dashing up to her and pushing her present into her hands first. “Open mine first!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Rowan holds her hands out in front of her. She flicks her wrists to coral everyone towards the living room. She shoots a glance at the adults, so like Clair to decide where they start first. “Let’s all convene in the living room so that we all have a chance to see what everyone got her.”

Seated with everyone around her, Serena tries to keep her breathing even. With everyone here there is no way she could ever be kidnapped. Not with her father  _ and  _ Lance’s father here. They wouldn’t let her be taken away a second time. Was there even a chance that could happen? She’d know, wouldn’t she?

“Serena?” her mother’s voice pierces her thoughts. 

She glances up to see everyone watching her with their brows creased and eyes troubled. Her own face screws up in a bit of frustration as she tries to keep her focus on the present. Swallowing her nerves, she picks up Clair’s present, a crudely wrapped rectangular object with rounded edges. It’s mendable and hollow in her hands as she twists it around to rip off the paper. 

Her eyes sparkle as she pulls out a perfect sized pouch to hold her toiletries while on her journey. Pictures are taken as she showcases Clair’s gift to her and then accepts Lance’s gift. His is a badge case and a belt specially fitted with connections for pokeballs. The two have already started their rivalry off with promises of battles every time they meet. They’re gonna start off together, to get the hang of traveling, but once they’re settled; off one will go. 

Her parents present her with new sneakers durable for the outdoors. Her mother must have found them at the store, they’re practical and fashionable. A blue pokeball with a lightning strike through it, cute and simple. 

Rowan orders the gifts on the coffee table and snaps a picture of Serena with her gifts. Then one of Serena, Lance and Clair with the gifts. From there, the food is served as the teens talk of their plans in the coming months. The hum of conversation in the presence of people she trusts relaxes Serena and eases the pain of her headaches. 

Not long after dinner has started Rowan’s parents arrive, bringing forth more presents themselves. The first gift is a framed painting, taller than Serena but wide enough for her to grasp without spreading her arms to her sides. It’s a family tree with beautifully dark blue-green branches spreading outwards from the center. Her father’s side is not pictured, just her mother’s extensive Clan history. The names are elegant, some hard to pronounce, and the faces look just the same. Their eyes stare at her, telling her that she will be the same, carrying their name with pride and honor. 

Rowan peels the painting from her daughter’s hand, beckoning for her parents to move onto the others. They pass her some gear she’ll need to travel, a lighter, some money, extra socks and a mini flashlight. Practical as ever. 

She finally reaches the end of the rain of gifts to find her grandfather passing her a long piece of navy blue cloth. It’s durable yet smooth in her hands as she holds it up to the golden light in the living room. It’s a deep navy blue color, she wonders if her hands will melt into the fabric with how rich the color looks. 

“What’s this? A blanket?” she twists the fabric around only to find a fastener at the top. 

“It’s a cape,” her grandmother explains with a proud grin. “Only the finest Dragon Tamers wear one. It will fit you fine when it is time.”

Where Serena went to school before, the kids always made fun of capes, saying that only superheroes wear capes. There’s no way she will ever be a hero, and so, the cape shall wait for another time. Of course, she keeps that to herself and puts on a big smile for her grandparents. She thanks them for their gifts before being told to join the rest of their guests in the dining room with a plate full of food packed on by her mother. Knowing that a dismissal was given so that her parents can talk with them, Serena scurries off to do as told, eager to get back to the food. 

“What did they get you?” Clair speaks between mouthfuls of food. 

Serena gets a few bites in before answering. “Just some stuff for the road.”

Clair seems satisfied with that and the party continues. By the time Rowan is finished talking with her parents, Aaron has the cake prepared and the birthday song is sung. Serena rolls her eyes at her parents’ childish ways, but is rather content that she can have normalcy on her birthday. Her grandparents head off soon after as do Clair’s parents, the girls are having a sleepover while Lance will stay late to hangout with them. 

As the adults veer off to the kitchen to talk, Lance, Clair and Serena begin to head upstairs. She makes it to the first step when there’s a knock on the door. It doesn’t sound out of the ordinary, three straight raps on the door. 

_ Knock. Knock. Knock. _

Sharp, quick and calculated. As if someone had been waiting until that precise moment to do so. Serena freezes mid-step, her head swiveling towards the front door with a faint trace of fear rolling down her spine. Her mother rounds the corner ready to answer it and she finds herself reaching out to stop her. 

“What’s wrong?” Rowan glances at her daughter, a frown forming on her face. 

“I’m... not sure,” Serena retracts her arm and hugs herself. “Don’t answer it.”

Seconds pass as she feels something heavy lumber away from the door, her chest expands with fresh air. Aaron and Wesley come to stand at her side, both of them watching her for the signal to check it out. After a couple deep breaths, she nods at them, still clutching her own body as if in pain. 

Clair and Lance put a hand on each of her shoulders and watch as the two men approach the front door. Their movements are slow and deliberate. Their training kicking in as they approach. The air is thick with tension, no one is sure that there is even threat outside. It could be a neighbor, or one of Clair’s parents coming back to grab something they forgot. Deep down, but Serena knows that there was someone there. Someone she couldn’t trust, but someone familiar. 

“One... two...” Aaron counts off under his breath.

He stands in front of the door, body poised for attack, while Wesley has taken a position behind the door with his hand on the handle. At the count of ‘three’, he rips the door open and they take similar fighting poses only to find no one there. They look down to see a clear box containing a pokeball and a small note beside it. 

The two share a look before Aaron bends over to pick it up with Wesley keeping watch the entire time. 

“Serena,” Aaron’s voice comes out so cold it startles her. 

“Yes?”

“It’s for you.”

All eyes gauge her reaction as she steps forward to accept the mysterious gift. Who could have brought it to her? Well, that’s easy. From the way her father won’t look at her and the way his jaw is set, it has to be her uncle. She never asked him for anything, how could she? She hasn’t heard from him since she was kidnapped. She figured he was busy hiding from her father and for good reason. 

“It’s safe to open,” Aaron mumbles as she accepts the case and note from him. 

She nods, opening the small card to see a short and sweet message in the center: ‘Happy birthday, Serena. And so, a special gift for a special girl’. At the bottom is Giovanni’s signature glaring up at them all. A reminder that he exists and he is aware of where they are. 

“What’s inside?” Lance whispers to Clair. 

His words shock life into Serena and her parents. The brunette starts by opening the case and pulling out the pokeball. She frowns as she feels a familiar wave of psychic energy emanating from it. 

There’s a psychic pokemon inside, not one that she knows, but one that is exuding enough energy to alert her to its distress. 

“I think it’s hurt,” she comments before tossing the ball into the air.

It pops open and white light bursts forth, splashing onto the ground and taking on a four-legged form. She watches as the ears emerge and then the tail splits and her heart leaps into her throat. The light dissipates and an Espeon stands before her. 

Her parents suck in a quick breath as the pokemon glances around the house, it’s deep eyes landing on each one of their faces for a quick second. The air becomes charged with static as she shakes her delicate fur and sniffs the air. Everyone is frozen in fear, wondering what could possibly be going through her mind. 

_ Where am I _ ? She asks aloud, not glancing at any one person in particular. 

_ You’re in my house, _ Serena doesn’t hesitate to answer, taking a half step forward. 

“What’s going on?” Rowan recognizes the concentrated look on Serena’s face. “What’s she saying?”

“She’s confused.”

_ Where is my trainer? _ Espeon suddenly lowers her body to the ground, glaring at Serena.  _ Why did you take me from him? _

_ It wasn’t me! _ Serena holds up her hands, alerting everyone in the room to take a step back. 

Espeon begins to growl and her gem begins to glow a faint red color.  _ Tell me now! _

_ I didn’t take you, check my memories, _ Serena volunteers holding her arms open.  _ Don’t hurt us, we can help you. _

The espeon pauses for a moment, her eyes scanning the area again and again. She recognizes the scent of food, but is confused by the new human and pokemon smells. This isn’t the same smell that ambushed her in her own home so long ago... She isn’t in any danger. 

_ I need to go home. _ She plops her bottom on the floor and begins to clean herself.  _ He will be looking for me. _

“She said she needs to go home,” Serena translates after realizing the long silence was making everyone uncomfortable. “Her trainer will be looking for her.”

“Does she happen to know where she lives?” Wesley wonders.

Serena bites her lip and asks. 

_ A big city with many lights, _ is the response. 

_ Can you be more specific? _

_ Not really. _

“That could be anywhere,” Aaron comments when the message is passed along. 

“Well, she is an Espeon. She has to be reported missing by  _ someone _ ,” Rowan comments glancing between her daughter and the psychic type. “You said her trainer was a man?”

“That’s what she told me,” Serena shrugs kneeling down to sit at Espeon’s height. 

Behind her, Clair and Lance creep up to get a closer look at a rare pokemon. They pause behind Serena and lean over her to get better looks as the psychic type takes her time grooming herself. Her velvet purple coat glows in the light in the entryway, looking so soft that it takes all of their resolve not to reach out and stroke it. Her red gem reflects a soft light as the pokemon’s head moves around her lower body. The pokemon stares up at the three teenagers with a dry look. She is unamused by the three young humans and their antics, but is also perturbed by them. 

“Can you ask her to show you some memories? If you can recognize any major buildings, it could help us locate her owner faster,” Aaron prods his daughter while scratching his chin. “A pokemon like this has got to be missed by someone rich and with power. I wouldn’t put it past my brother to try and cast us in a bad name.”

“I’ll see,” Serena promises, turning her head towards Espeon. She prods at the pokemon’s mind and is welcomed inside again. 

_ Did you find him? _

_ No, but can you show me some memories you have of where you lived. We can probably get you home faster that way. _

_ No. _

_ What do you mean no? _ Serena jerks back at the answer, startling Clair into moving back.  _ We’re trying to help you. _

_ I cannot allow you to see anything aside from what I want to show you,  _ Espeon sits up and waves her tail.  _ Whether or not it will help me is irrelevant. Memories are mine and I will not toss them aside. _

_ Not even to find your trainer? _

_ My memories are not just mine but also my trainer’s. If I give away a memory you could use that information to destroy him and leave me all alone. _

“She has a point,” Serena says out loud. 

“What?” Rowan asks. 

“Oh, she said she won’t share her memories because she isn’t sure if we’re trusted enough to know who and where her trainer is.”

“Smart pokemon,” Aaron comments with a half shrug. 

“So what’re you going to do?” Clair peeks over Serena’s shoulder at the psychic type.

“Ask her,” Aaron gestures to Serena.

“What?” his daughter responds, her stomach drops and she feels her face get warm. This is a lot of responsibility on her shoulders for her birthday.

“What do you want to do about it? It seems that she’s been dumped onto you and now she’s your responsibility,” he explains with a firm stare. 

“Aaron!” Rowan glares at her husband. “That is too much for her.”

“Not it’s not, honey,” Aaron shakes his head. “She’s going to be out in the real world, we won’t always be there to make decisions for her. Besides,” he turns to Serena and takes her hand, “I’m not leaving you hanging. I will help you, but you have to decide what to do. I want you to have control over this.”

Rowan seems uncomfortable by this fact, she shifts on her feet and crosses her arms with a huff. Sometimes her husband is right and those are times she has to just trust him and see where it goes. Serena, however, is elated at this. He knew that she has been feeling powerless and although, this situation is clearly under his jurisdiction, she wouldn’t mind helping out a lost pokemon if it meant traveling to a new place to get her home. She glances between everyone before facing Espeon once more. 

_ I don’t know how you got here. But I am leaving on a journey tomorrow. If you come with me, maybe we can find your trainer?  _

Espeon tilts her head at Serena, her split tail flicking behind her as she contemplates the deal.  _ Will I be free to do as I please? _

_ That depends. I won’t make you battle for me, _ Serena explains after some thought. She doesn’t want to restrict Espeon. The pokemon isn’t hers, she can’t force her to do anything, they just need to be able to work together until she can get home. 

_ That is acceptable,  _ Espeon yawns.  _ I accept your terms, you seem like a capable trainer and I sense an immense psychic power emanating from you, it is...interesting. _

_ Thanks,  _ Serena tilts her head at the pokemon. 

“So?” Claire nudges the brunette for an answer. 

“We’ve agreed to travel together to find her trainer. She won’t be my pokemon, but she will travel and stay with me,” Serena explains out loud, glancing around the room before landing on her father. “Is that okay?”

“That’s perfect, darling,” he beams at her, a look that makes her face warm. “I’m proud of you.” He turns to his wife with a lopsided grin. “I’ll also send out the info that we found an Espeon, there will be a report for her.”

“Good,” Rowan rolls her eyes at her husband. 

“That makes three pokemon! You’re already halfway to your limit!” Clair exclaims, beside her Lance nods his head with grim realization. 

“Espeon doesn’t count,” Serena points out. 

The two begin to argue, signalling to the adults that everything is going back to normal. They retreat to the kitchen to start discussing possible ideas for Serena while she is on her journey. They can’t let her go on it without some sort of supervision. It would be careless and neither of her parents are going to be like that ever again. 

“Let’s go upstairs,” Clair nudges Serena.

The dark haired girl nods and turns to Espeon,  _ would you like to go in your pokeball now? _

_ Yes, I need rest.  _

Serena returns the psychic type, pocketing the pokeball before heading up the steps with the other two. The hum of the adults talking diminishes as they reach the top and sweep over to her room as if on a mission. Immediately the two settle on her bed as she crashes on her bean bag chair. The three of them let out a breath simultaneously, Serena never fails to make their lives exciting. 

Her room has changed considerably over the past few years. What started out as a room with simple pokemon posters and pictures of a life lived so long ago, Serena barely remembers it, has become a normal teenage girl’s room. There are posters of good looking men by her bed (from Clair), above her desk are photos of the three of them over the years at various birthday parties, sleepovers and events. 

Serena stares at the two playing some strange hand game on the bed and grins. The first time she had Clair over for a sleepover, she hadn’t flinched at the sight of Serena’s back scars. At that point, Serena knew the blue haired girl well enough to not be surprised by her curious reaction. Clair wanted to touch them and was curious as to how she got them. At the time, before Serena had saved her she had to lie and, well, she hasn’t fully told them what really happened. They don’t need to know about her Uncle and she hopes to keep it that way for as long as she can. 

She has yet to show Lance, there’s really no reason for the boy to see her without a shirt and she doesn’t plan on giving him one anytime soon. Clair may have told him and he may just be waiting his turn to see them. That sounds like Lance, there are times where he will give others the time they need to show him something. A rare side, but one that she appreciates nonetheless. 

“Ouch!” Lance winces at Clair’s smack. 

She grins at him, waving her hands so that he can place his over hers, palm down with hers palm up. Serena watches them, her own smile growing as Lance’s hands tremble with anticipation. This is his cousins favorite game. She challenges everyone at school any free time she gets. This leaves many students with red welts on their hands during class. 

“Ow!” Lance glares at his cousin, reaching over to smack her. “That was too hard.”

“Don’t be a baby,” she laughs, shoving him back. 

He huffs, mumbling to himself as his eyes wander the room before falling on Serena as she toys with Espeon’s pokeball. His brows furrow and he sits up. “You know your dad won’t leave it all to you, right?”

Serena glances up at him. Her blue eyes are clouded with her thoughts, as usual. He knows she’s always worried about something, whether it’s an upcoming test or an interaction with a classmate. Her worries aren’t unfounded, he just feels that she has too much on her plate sometimes. 

“I know... I’m just worried about what happened, that’s all,” she admits, releasing a sigh and placing the pokeball on her bookshelf. 

“Oh, yeah. Who gave that to you?” Clair points at the pokeball. “Do you have a sibling we don’t know about?”

“Of course not,” Serena laughs, but she shifts in her chair. “I just have a crazy Uncle that’s all.”

“What do you mean crazy?” Lance frowns, then he pouts as if hurt. “Why didn’t you tell us about him before?”

“He’s not someone to bring up when it comes to family functions,” Serena reasons. “I mean, he literally stole this pokemon. Why would he want to be around my  _ dad _ ? Let alone yours too.”

His face changes in that instant and he laughs. “Oh. I forgot about that. Okay, I understand why you wouldn’t bring him up. But, like, wha-what’s going to happen now?”

The question is confusing for all of them. Is her uncle going to get away with it? They don’t know the whole story, Serena can see on their faces the confusion as to how this could have happened. It looks like her father is just letting this psycho go around and steal pokemon. What they don’t know is her uncle has been evading capture for a long time now. For all they know, he hired someone to steal Espeon and once it’s investigated, he’ll have some alibi that keeps him safe. 

Serena knows the frustration her father will feel all too well. She feels it herself at times, at night when it’s just her and her thoughts.

“What are you going to do?” Clair breaks through her thoughts. 

“Well, I already said I was going to take Espeon back to her city... Or, I’m gonna try,” Serena replies in a meek voice. “Dad’s going to do whatever it is he and Wesley do until then.”

“I think this is a good opportunity for you,” Clair admits, surprising the other two. “What? I just see this as a goal for you. You’ve been kind of goal-less for a while, now you have something to get to.”

“Kind of a messed up goal,” Lance snickers, but his face drops into a more serious look nonetheless. “I mean, she’s kind of right.”

“I know, I know,” Serena sighs picking at her hair. 

They’ve been worried for her ever since they went to the Pokemon Center to get their licenses registered in the Trainer’s Catalog for the league. Their class had gone together and as a fun activity their teachers asked what everyone’s goal was and she had no clue. Traveling around had always seemed fun to her, that’s all she  _ wants _ to do. She wants to see the world, but that’s not a good enough reason to leave home. She’s decent at battling, that’s good enough for her parents to let her leave, but there’s no way she could take on gyms.

“I’ll find something,” she promises them. 

“Let us know when you do,” Clair mutters. At Lance’s nudge, she curls her lips inwards. “I meant that wholly, I want to know when you do.”

Serena laughs, “I know what you meant.”

Clair makes a ‘see? Leave me alone’ face at Lance, nudging him back and off of Serena’s bed in the process. The dark haired girl laughs watching the two argue, adjusting herself to lay on her stomach on the chair with her head resting on her hands. The majority of their hangouts are like this, Lance trying to be Clair’s filter, Clair being supportive and harsh in that loving way of hers and Serena worrying about something. Each time it ends with them all curled up on her bed listening to some story from their classes that week or telling secrets about other classmates or themselves to each other. 

And Serena wouldn’t have it any other way. 


	13. Step Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the excitement and wonder at starting a journey. I always loved that part about beginning a new game! I wanted to create a rift between Kanto and Johto, it always seemed like there was one and it'll be more apparent later.

“Are you sure you won’t travel around Johto?” Rowan yawns while following her daughter to the kitchen. 

It’s early morning, five o’clock to be exact. Serena and Lance decided they want an early start to get ahead of the game. They made a pact of sorts, for the first few weeks they’ll travel together until they gain their footing. After that, they’ll be true rivals; at Lance’s insistence. Serena isn’t sure how she feels about that, she’s competitive, yes, in everything but battling. He’s sure of himself and she has seen his skill; even now as a novice trainer, he has way more potential than she’ll ever have. Lance is for sure going to the Indigo League at the end of the year. But Serena is not so sure about following that path. Of course, she wants to travel and meet new people and strengthen her bond with her Pokemon. And that’s it. Training for gyms and then eventually, the Elite Four feels like too much. 

Lance insists that she’ll find her battling spirit once they hit the road. 

The gyms around Kanto are small with a little more than eight of them official. The league has been running for a little over a decade already with a current Champion who is doing his best to keep everything in order. League regulation includes Johto gyms, however, the two regions have not been agreeing on terms. Take Johto badges to the League in Kanto and someone may not let you through. That and there aren’t enough gyms in Johto, the trainers see no reason to if you’re going to be turned away in the end. There’s no place to set up an entire other league of elite trainers and staff, leading the two to go to their neighboring region. Serena doesn’t like it, but there’s nothing for her to do.

“There aren’t enough official leaders in Johto to qualify for the league conference,” Serena explains. 

“But Kanto is so far,” her mother counters. 

“We live in Blackthorn, it’s so close to Kanto... Dad works in Kanto.”

“Touche.”

Once in the kitchen, Serena is surprised to see her father standing at the counter with breakfast waiting for her. He grins, but she can see just how exhausted he has been from work. There have been a lot of late nights or even days before he comes home. She doesn’t know what he’s doing, a lot of G-men work has to be a secret. He’s doing good work, she always reminds herself and her mother. It’s tough, but Rowan and Serena are able to fill in the space with other projects. 

“Morning, sweetie,” Aaron rubs his face, he seems to age a bit at the greeting, like he’s only realizing it’s still morning. “You’ve got my number, your mother’s number, Wesley’s number and several other ones.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m gonna be fine!” Serena sighs, plopping down at the bar and accepting the plate from him. Eggs, sausages, roasted veggies and buttered toast makes her stomach growl and mouth water. This is the food she’ll miss when she’s on the road. She remembers packing several protein filled snacks, dry tasting and  _ healthy _ for some light eating between cities. 

“Did you pack your bag?” Rowan asks sweeping up to the fridge. 

“Seven times,” she responds between mouthfuls of eggs. “I have everything. The clothes, extra pokeballs, first aid kit for me and the pokemon, water bottles, snacks, extra shoes and the map.”

She couldn’t stop packing the bag to make sure it was absolutely comfortable against her back and easy enough to dig through without having to take everything out and do it again. Her mother bought her a completely new backpack, navy blue with silver and white stars. It holds all her items with room for more items that she will be buying on her trip for sure. 

“Do you have enough cash?” 

“Yes, and I connected my trainer card to my bank account.”

“That’s my girl,” Aaron pats his daughter on the head. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”

“I won’t.”

“One more thing,” Rowan puts a hand on Serena’s shoulder. “I know you still are trying to drop some weight. Keep eating healthy things, you’re going to need the energy while you travel.”

“I will, Mom,” Serena promises with a smile. She isn’t where she wants to be, but she has learned to be okay with where she is now. 

Rowan opens her mouth to ask more questions when there’s a rapid knock on the door, and then more knocks, possibly from a second person. Serena swings her arm out to her side, her mind picturing the front door and opening it. There’s a creaking sound and then footsteps rushing towards them. 

“Don’t forget to shut the door,” Rowan mutters as Clair and Lance tumble into the kitchen. 

“Right,” Serena swings her arm inwards and there’s the familiar click of the front door swinging shut. 

“Are you ready yet?” Lance plops down next to her with excitement. 

He’s dressed in black pants, dark blue hiking boots and a navy blue and red short sleeved shirt. His hair is cut short, courtesy of his mother to make it easier for him to manage, and still wet from the shower. His brown eyes are sparkling as he regards his best friend. His hiking bag is a little bigger than hers, probably filled to the brim with food and clothes. 

“I’m eating,” she munches on her food and takes a swig of orange juice. “Beside, we agreed, five thirty we’ll be leaving.”

“It’s five twenty.”

“I have ten minutes left.”

“A fast ten minutes,” Lance nudges her. 

“You two better call me when good stuff happens,” Clair takes her spot on Serena’s left. “And when you’re bored and to tell me what you did during the day.”

“Maybe, whenever we have time,” Serena slides her plate into the sink and wipes her hands on a towel. 

“Did you eat enough?” Rowan questions, going back to the fridge to fix more food. “What about you Lance?”  
“Don’t worry, I ate more than enough,” he responds with a heavy sigh.

“We’re okay, Mom. And we’re leaving too,” Serena speaks in a firm tone. 

“Okay, baby girl,” Rowan nods, forcing a smile on her face. 

Serena distracts herself from her mother’s pain by looking through her backpack to ensure she has all her items. Her heart pounds in her chest from excitement and anticipation. She’s been waiting for this moment for a long time, a chance to leave the house and see the world. To grow and explore. Her mother has told her that it’s her time to find herself and her place. The curiosity of the voice from long ago is a whisper in her thoughts, she will find who she is.

That’s exactly what she hopes to do. 

Her fingers brush against Espeon’s pokeball and a flash of Giovanni crosses her mind’s eye, sending shivers down her back. She hasn’t discussed anything with her parents about him, but she is thinking about trying to find Giovanni sometime on her journey. It’s a dangerous idea, but one that would bring her all the answers. But that is a job for later. Right now she needs to get on her feet. 

“Be careful and call me when you guys get to the first town,” Rowan starts on them, following them to the door. “Aaron make sure they have everything when you drop them off.”

“Don’t worry, honey. I will and they will be fine,” Aaron kisses the top of her head before ushering the kids out the door. 

The morning air in Blackthorn is crisp, it shocks Serena and her father awake. The sweet smell of damp grass hits her nostrils as she breathes in and releases a small cloud of warm breath. She’s grown up smelling this grass and this is her last moment before she’s back again. The sky is light blue with a hint of pink and orange where the sun is beginning to peak. In the distance, the mountain is hidden behind puffy clouds straggling by in peace. A typical morning in Blackthorn has always made Serena feel at peace, her scars don’t hurt and her headaches disappear. 

She loosens the scarf around her neck, allowing the cool air to ghost across the raised skin on the back of her neck. A shiver runs down her spine and she smiles. 

“Clair, are you coming with to drop them off?” Aaron asks, tossing Salamence’s pokeball into the air. 

“Nah, I gotta get sleep before classes start,” the blue haired girl yawns, stretching her arms out. 

“Good luck, let me know how it goes,” Serena catches her in a hug and spins them around. 

With Lance and Serena going off to beat the Kanto League, Clair wants to join the growing Johto League and make a name for herself when it starts. To do that, she is entering some classes in Blackthorn where she will learn all about being a gym leader and at the end, she’ll take a test through the league to be a leader. After that, it will be up the elder’s in Blackthorn to make her title official. With the state of the League now, Lance and Serena tried to get her to join them on the road, but the blue haired girl didn’t want to. It’s an honor to be named gym leader, let alone build a gym in your town, especially if you’re part of a clan made from honor. 

Serena sees that last step as tedious and disappointing. All that hard work and the final verdict is up to the elder’s who could turn that work into nothing. But tradition is most important, and they will all have to face the Elders someday.

“I will, I will,” Clair nudges Serena off, but offers a punch to her shoulder with a half smile. “Kick ass out there.”

“That’s what I’ll be doing,” Lance cuts in smacking his cousin. 

“Right, I hope she will keep you in line.”

“I’ll do my best,” Serena grins at the two. 

Aaron watches from the side as the three wrap their arms around their shoulders and put their heads together. For the past eight years, that’s how they created their bubble. They block out the world, just the three of them and whatever they say. 

“Whatever happens, don’t forget each other,” Clair speaks in a sudden soft tone. 

Lance and Serena share a quick look. Being the only one staying put, they can see Clair’s concern about her status with them. The two talked and talked about this moment, the moment where she would be left behind and they would have to ensure that she will never be that way to them. The work she is doing is just as important as theirs. 

“Of course not, how could we?” Lance is first to speak, he offers her a wide grin. 

“A lot can happen in a year,” she shrugs in return, her eyes meeting theirs. 

“We won’t,” Serena assures her. “Everything around us may chance, and we may change, but we’re still gonna be friends. We’ll still be together.”

Clair nods her head and looks at the ground. “No need to get cheesy about it...”

“You started it!” Lance laughs, bumping his hips into hers.

“I’ll finish it,” she threatens with a bump back. 

They begin to rock side to side, in sync with each other’s movements. Their laughter warms up the chilly morning. They’re still kids, naive and optimistic about the world, about their goals and dreams. Aaron watches them with a worried smile, knowing that their journeys are going to be the turning point of their lives. The children that they are now won’t be the same children that come home. Just a year older, still teenagers on the cusp of adulthood. What they’ll go through will change them, what they’ll see will educate them and he’s excited. His own journey is still fresh in his mind even though it’s been years. He wants Serena to do this, to see the world and understand that, yes, her hardships are unique to her, but everyone has them and she doesn’t have to go through it alone. 

The three pull away and face him then. He does his mandatory bag checks and such before ushering the two onto Salamence, one at a time. The dragon type, rears his head to Serena’s as she reaches up to pull herself on his back. He sniffs the side of her head before nudging her head with his. She giggles and pats the pokemon’s large head gently. Clair waves goodbye as the three settle on the large dragon type. 

There’s a giant gush of air, a second or two where Serena can’t breathe, and then, Clair is just a dot on the ground. High in the clouds, the air is even colder. Serena pulls her scarf tighter as Lance reaches around the both of them with his cape. She nestles in it, thanking him over her shoulder for sharing. Her head rests on her father’s back as they soar high above the landscapes between Kanto and Johto. 

Flights like these are what she’s going to learn to do when she has a pokemon that can fly. It may be cold, but flying is such a good way of getting around and it’ll be faster that way. 

It’s not too long before Salamence is descending out of the sky. The giddy feeling in Serena’s stomach intensifies the closer they get to the new ground. It’s a little bit brighter in Kanto and the air is just a tad warmer. Salamence’s massive frame touches the ground and the two are dropped off. Serena and Lance watch as Aaron and his dragon become a tiny dot in the sky. 

They wanted a semi easy start for their journey. Outside of Pewter City, near Mt. Moon. It’s close to Lance’s first gym battle, and close enough to the mountain that they’ll get their first taste of travel. It was a spot both trainers and parents could agree on. 

“Well... This is it,” Serena takes a deep breath. “We’re officially trainers.”

“Hey,” Lance starts in the same tone Clair had taken earlier. Serena glances up at him, her blue eyes searching his brown ones for an answer. “Even though we’re going to be rivals, you can still come to me for help. We’re still friends.”

“I know that,” Serena laughs. “This’ll be fun. We’re gonna do so much and learn so much. We’ll be great.”

He smiles back at her lifting his hand for hers in a high five gesture. When their hands smack, they close around each others and shake them side to side. 

“Yeah. We will be great.”  
  



	14. Wake Up, Moving On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is named after the song by Kevin Penkin. It's an upbeat tone with no singing. I liked the mood that it set, innocent and yet full of hope, a lot like how Serena is probably feeling today considering she is going to be seeing her first gym battle today. If you haven't notice my other chapters are mostly names of songs that may or may not fit the theme of the chapter. 
> 
> At this point this is all caught up with where I'm at for writing/editing. It's going to be live posting from here on out!

Today is the day. 

All that hard work has lead up to this point. Lance’s prepping for the past few days has him feeling confident. Serena has been a big help with training, despite not being into battling as much as him, she puts up a good fight. In school, they were the top two, able to bring the theories and basic strategies to life with ease. Now she seems to stumble over her words and struggle with picking a strategy. 

_ Knock. Knock. _

“Hey, you ready?” 

Serena’s voice filters through the wooden door. The light in the bathroom flickers as Lance finishes getting dressed. They decided to stay a few nights in the pokemon center before his scheduled battle with Flint. It’s a small center with only one floor of rooms and even less with just two beds. The bathroom is cramped with little space to get dressed between the shower, the counter and the toilet. 

Just this one battle and Serena’s and they can be out of here. This battle can go either way and since he doesn’t have a water type pokemon he wonders if his dragon type will fare well against rock types. Moreover, he wonders how Serena’s pokemon will fare against the rock type. Espeon doesn’t seem keen on battling, or listening to Serena to a certain extent. He hasn’t said it, but he thinks that Espeon is not a pokemon for battling anyway. It may just be his new trainer eyes, but with the way she uses Confusion to lift rocks barely bigger than her body, he doubts that she is much stronger than a freshly given starter pokemon. 

He’s discussed as much with Serena, but she would rather not push the pokemon into anything considering the situation. 

“Lance?”

“Yeah,” he ruffles his hair. “Just pumping myself up is all.”

When he opens the door, he finds all of their stuff packed and ready on her bed. Serena’s organization has been his saviour these past few weeks, he’s going to miss it when they split up. The two grin at each other, a spark of nerves bouncing between them as they race to grab their things.

Pewter City Gym overlooks city, its bluff sticking out over the smaller trees slipping into the city from the surrounding the area. The hike to the gym is short, just a few blocks past the Center and the Mart, and up a small hill. It doesn’t even look like a gym, the only way to know it is is by the league official statue in front. The entrance to the gym is made of bulging boulders, a lower corner of it is clean cut, as if someone started fixing it and then stopped. The rest of the building is longer with an extremely tall ceiling. 

Lance takes a deep breath before walking up to the door with Serena not far behind. The door swings open to reveal an older gentleman with light brown hair, blue shorts, a striped shirt and round glasses resting on his rounded nose. He greets them with a wave, two water bottles and a gesture towards the battlefield. Serena accepts both water bottles knowing Lance is too nervous for a drink of water. 

“Hello!” a different brown haired man greets from the side of the room. His boots shuffle across the dirt of the gym, kicking up little dust clouds as he approaches. He’s wearing dark jeans with a brown tank top. His shaggy dark hair looks messy as if he ran his hands through it a few times. His thick beard is dark brown and his skin a rich brown color. He raises a hand to Lance, “Name’s Flint, you’re Lance?”

“I am, sir,” Lance responds with a firm handshake. 

“No need for the formality, are you ready to battle?” he waves off Lance’s choice in words and swings his arm in an invitation for Lance to head to the other side of the field. 

Lance glances back at Serena, she gives him two thumbs up and a nod. As supportive as ever, he manages a grin back at her before turning to the gym leader and nodding. “Let’s do this!”

The two take their places on either side of the field, the guy at the entrance of the gym comes up and escorts Serena to the stands placed nearer to Lance’s side. From there, he strides over to the sidelines of the battlefield and picks up a black flag and a whistle. Serena feels a jolt of electricity run through her as the two trainers gaze at each other across the field. She feels as though the air managed to thicken in the few minutes it took for them to take their stances. 

This feeling always makes her jittery. It’s the pre-battle nerves and tension. It infiltrates the immediate area surrounding a battle, it’s get adrenaline pumping and blood racing through the body of any viewers and participants. The blinding lights focus on the field, darkening the stands as the ref calls out all the rules. 

“Are the contestants ready?” the ref announces, his voice echoing through the gym. 

“Yes!” both sides chime in unison.

“Then begin.”

“Rhyhorn, battle time!” 

“Dratini, let’s go!” Lance shouts, tossing the ball in the air. 

The ref drops the flag from above his head to signal the beginning and the two are off. Flint starts off with Earthquake making the entire gym tremble beneath Serena’s feet, she feels it rattle her core as her heart surges with the energy. The attack tosses the serpent-like dragon onto its back, again and again, preventing him from getting up. Serena clutches her seat, watching as Lance commands the pokemon to slam his body into the Rhyhorn as the tremors subside.

Dratini rights itself and slithers up the field moving at a faster pace than expected. He twists his body around, swinging the back end of his body forward to smack Rhyhorn right on the head. The quadruped pokemon takes a quick leap back, and out of the way of the serpent. 

“Use horn attack to gain some space!” Flint commands in a booming voice. 

Rhyhorn tucks in his chin and pulls himself forward, his horn slams right into the Dratini’s body. Serena flinches at the impact, her hands fly up to her eyes as the dragon type rolls away. Dratini cries out but gets up at Lance’s command. 

“Twister!”

Dratini wags his tail in a quick erratic motion, creating a plume of wind that blasts through the several boulders littering the field. It gains traction and debris on it’s way to Rhyhorn, the ground type tries to dodge, but the twister slams into the ground right in front of it. The ground explodes with dirt and rock, sending the ground type flying towards the edge of the field. Flint encourages his pokemon to stand as Lance congratulates his pokemon on fighting so well so far.

“We’re not done yet,” Flint reminds his competitor. “Rhyhorn use Earthquake and then Fury Attack.”

Serena holds her breath as the ground trembles at each foot fall forward. Dratini struggles to gain its balance as Rhyhorn approaches. Lance tries to call out to the pokemon but it is useless. The gray ground type slams into his pokemon, jabbing his horn into him multiple times, driving him back towards Lance. 

“Twister!” the young man cries out. His eyes wide and shining with fists clenched beside him. 

Dratini closes his eyes and continues to spin, his body twisting and twisting until a funnel of winds surrounds him and releases him from Rhyhorn’s wrath. The cyclone curves around and charges straight at Rhyhorn. Serena clutches her bag as the air in the gym starts to swirl around. 

“Go straight for it with horn attack!” Flint calls out, pointing forward with a determined look. 

Serena watches as Rhyhorn’s horn begins to glow as the pokemon concentrates all of its energy on it. He takes off with a powerful kick and sprints straight into Dratini’s attack. There’s a huge gust of air that knocks Serena backwards. Dust is sent up, covering the entire field and preventing the pokemon from being seen. 

“Rena!” Lance calls having caught sight of her being blown back. 

She scrambles up to her seat, dusting off bits of dirt from her face before grinning at him. “I’m fine! Keep going!”

Looking relieved he nods and turns to watch the dust encompass the field with a half smile. On the other side, Flint is frowning and searching for signs of his pokemon. The judge does his best to find each pokemon, he squints and bends over, trying his best to see who is down and who isn’t. 

Lance takes a breath in the silence, and to Serena’s surprise calls out an attack, “Dragon Rage.”

Amidst the smoke a fiery orange orb forms in front of Dratini’s mouth, it flies across the field and collides with the unsuspecting Rhyhorn. It sends the quadruped flying back in an explosion. He lands in the dirt in front of his trainer, his body limp. Dratini, looking beat up, slithers to sit in front of Lance. Both trainer and pokemon watch Rhyhorn for any signs of a fight. 

“Rhyhorn is down!” the judge calls, raising his flag on Lance’s side. 

“Not too bad, kid,” Flint recalls his pokemon, he holds the pokeball close before slipping it into his back pocket. He takes another ball off his belt and tosses it over the field. “Graveler let’s go.”

Lance wipes some sweat off his brow and offers Serena a smile after she claps at the decree of his win. She has adjusted back into her seat, leaning forward as the pokemon let out their battle cries. The adrenaline rush has her heart pumping and mind racing. This feeling is different than the battles she had to watch while in school, now that it’s real and up close, she could get used to this. 

Lance’s teeth show as he grins at Flint. “Now, we’re just getting started.” 

 

**_April 5th_ **

_ Mom bought me a journal and asked me to write in it as often as I can about anything I want.  _

_ It’s been a few weeks since the start. Lance and I split up last week, but I have to say: he’s amazing!  _

_ He had to battle a man named Flint for the first badge, the Boulder Badge. It’s a rock type gym and even though it was the first gym, it was pretty tough. Lance decided to do some extra training beforehand and it paid off. He’s a fantastic battler, he kept a level head and ordered his pokemon around with confidence. He waited to see what Flint’s tricks were before he went in for an all-out attack. Flint never stood a chance against him! It was amazing.  _

_ Since I never said no to battling the league I took a few days of training myself and battled against Flint. My battle wasn’t as good, it was a disaster. I barely scraped by! Thankfully, Dratini was there to help me out. Battling is not as easy as Lance made it look, there’s a rhythm to it that I just can’t seem to find. He promised to help me get better at it and up until last week we were battling each other for practice. He says I’m much better now, but I think he just said that to leave on his own. I didn’t want to ask for more help and slow him down, besides, I just gotta stick to what I learned in school and I’ll be catching up to him in no time! _

_ When we split up, I stayed behind near Cerulean City to take training seriously. Mt. Moon was the perfect place to train, between the rock types there are a bunch of other types that we can fight. We started out struggling with how to fight when we came across a black belt named Kent. He saw us struggling and decided to tutor me in training. He taught Cyndaquil how to use Dig and Dratini how to strengthen her Twister.  _

_ Espeon didn’t want to train, but she is such a good cheerleader. Having her there really brings a calm presence to the sessions. She sometimes helps Kent by lifting up lighter rocks to toss at Dratini, but other than that, she just watches.  _

_ Dratini is such a small thing, she really has to try hard to smash through anything with her moves. I hope she gets bigger soon... _

 

“That’s right, kick and punch!” Kent instructs with his arms folded. 

Serena and Cyndaquil follow along to his words, the two looking comical with how serious they are listening to this man. It has been months since he has found people to train and was delighted to stumble on this young girl struggling with her pokemon. He saw a fire in her and her pokemon, but there just wasn’t enough ‘oomph!’ for them to follow through. Normally, he tutors pokemon to learn Mega Punch, but the little fire type couldn’t learn it. So, he settled for tutoring them in battling. 

It’s been three weeks since they’ve started training and her pokemon have been faring well. Cyndaquil is quicker than before, his defense was already strong, no doubt from training with dragons back home. His Ember burns hotter than he has seen, he is shocked that it’s not yet Flamethrower. Though it will be extremely powerful when he gets there. 

Dratini was a major concern for him. The pokemon is clearly the runt, small and unimposing. However, after weeks of training with Serena, the pokemon has learned to move with confidence and a little more strength.  

Overhead the sun lays low in the sky, casting the afternoon in a warm, orange glow. The area is rocky with a small dirt path leading the way to Cerulean City, it’s normally empty this far outside of the city, perfect for training. A gust of wind rustles Serena’s braided hair and cools off her warm head. She glances to the side to see Espeon watching her from beside her bag. The pokemon looks so serene laying down in the afternoon light.

“Alright, next up is a battle,” he announces and smiles at Serena’s look of surprise. “I want to see how you do.”

“Right,” she nods, her face turns serious. Her Cyndaquil lets out a small plume of fire.

“One on one!” Kent calls out as he jogs a few feet away and tosses up a pokeball. “Machoke, I need you.”

The fighting type pokemon erupts from the pokeball and stretches himself out on the rocky terrain. Serena can’t help but be jealous at the stance pokemon and trainer take at the same time. Kent lifts his chin, his eyes meeting hers and she motions Cyndaquil to run forward and take his position. Machoke flexes his muscles at the ready, waiting for the first call. 

“Focus energy,” Kent starts out. 

“Ty, use ember!” Serena dives in right away. 

Machoke’s body begins to glow, his muscles growing larger and his face more aggressive. Cyndaquil sprints forward on his tiny feet, his squeaky voice letting out a battle cry that isn’t as intimidating as he wants it to be. From his mouth little embers fly out colliding with the larger pokemon and knocking him on its butt. 

“Low kick!” 

In one fluid movement, Machoke turns his body with one arm on the ground and he swings around with his leg stuck out. Cyndaquil cries out, his body tumbling across the ground and into a pile of rocks. He shakes his body off and rears up for another attack. 

“Smokescreen!” Serena calls out, her heart hammering in her chest. Black smoke pours of out Ty’s mouth covering the battlefield. Machoke coughs as it covers him, allowing Ty the time to hide. “Use quick attack to move faster, then use Ember again!” 

Cyndaquil bursts forth, much closer to Machoke, and blasts fire into the fighting type’s unexpecting face. The fighting type cries out in pain and starts flailing to get out of the plume of embers. Serena fist pumps and moves to make another attack when Kent suddenly shouts out. 

“Thunderpunch!” 

“Cyndaquil, uh, run away!” Serena panics as the fighting types hand glows yellow with electricity. 

Kent laughs and waves his hand at his pokemon. Machoke stops in his tracks and waves the sparks from his hand. “Okay, that’s enough for now.”

“S-sorry. I panicked,” she fiddles with the end of her braid as the older man approaches. 

“I can tell,” he points out, patting his pokemon’s his shoulder. “Try not to do that so much. You were doing great.”

“Thanks,” she blushes, rocking back and forth on her feet. 

“You still have to do your run though.”

“Darn it!”

**_OoOoOoO_ **

“Finish up!”

Serena wipes off the sweat on her brow and gazes up at the sky. Behind them Mt. Moon rises up into the clouds. “Are we done already?” 

“Yes, we are,” he smiles at her. Despite knowing her for three weeks, he feels a small connection to her. Passing along knowledge has always brought him joy as she will now take his knowledge and travel all over. Even if he helped only a little bit, she’s farther than before. 

“Like done-done?”

He chuckles. “Yes, we are done-done.”

“Are you sure?” she presses further. 

“You have to be confident in yourself,” he nods his head. “You are doing good for just starting out. I have faith that you will find your bearings along the way.”

Serena puffs out her cheeks. She feels a little better at Kent’s reassurances and offers him a smile. “I guess you’re right. Thank you for helping me.”

“Of course, good trainers help other trainers out,” he holds out his hand to her. “The path I showed you will take you straight to Cerulean City. May our paths cross again, someday.”

“I hope so,” she shakes his hand with a wide smile. 

They split ways then. 

Kent lives out in Route 4, Serena has never seen the place, she won’t trust a stranger that much. He met up with her every morning for their training and walks her to the edge of the mountainside trail. Today he kept their session close to the city just for Serena to get back without his help. She turns on her heel, backpack hitched up tight, and heads towards the city without another glance back. 

_ You did great, _ Espeon joins her, trotting to keep pace.  

Espeon had been keeping a keen eye on Kent, since the first moment they met. She was making sure he didn’t have ill intentions. It’s the major reason she agreed to training with him, she herself could tell he was a good person, it was just nice for the extra reassurance. The pokemon was suspicious at first, but Serena’s gut instinct seemed to be good at picking up well intentions. The pokemon doubted that the girl even thought that the man would hurt her and was proved wrong today.

Espeon knew better. The same thing happened when she was with her trainer back home. There was a flash, a loud noise and everything went dark. When she came to, this little one was staring at her with a mixture of fear and concern. It is a nice memory, she knew she was safe but her first thought was that she wanted to go home. She wants to see her trainer, one last time...

“Are you okay?” Serena asks the pokemon out loud.

_ Yes, I am just remembering my trainer. _

_ Are you going to show me where you live? _

The pokemon contemplates this while trotting beside her partner. In all honesty, the pokemon doesn’t remember much about where she lived, she rarely ever left the house. She remembers a line of tall buildings and city lights at night. So, why won’t she show the trainer? If it gets her to her beloved trainer, why won’t she do it?

_ I will not _ , she responds instead. 

Serena remains silent as they enter the city. She follows the cobble stone path all the way to the gym. It’s getting to be late afternoon, but it doesn’t close for another hour. 

This gym is much bigger than the Pewter gym as it doubles as a space for the leaders to do their water shows. The building is colorful and dome shaped. Along the front of it is a Dewgong painting, welcoming of visitors. Its whimsical coloring is a welcome invitation for audiences, but a taunt for challengers. 

The doors slide open as Serena steps up, a blast of cool air sucks her into the well lit reception area. White tiled floors gleam up at her, the smell of chlorine fills the air, reminding Serena of the pool in the school at home. Along the walls are pictures depicting a future renovation of the gym, turning part of it into an aquarium. She grins at the photos, she’s never been to an aquarium before, she’ll have to come back and view the water types displayed here.

She follows the blue carpet to the front desk, the receptionist in the front greets her with a thin smile. Her tan skin looks pale under the harsh lighting as she musters a nice greeting. Her bun is falling out of her hair tie, brown strands are splayed against her forehead, damp from the humidity of the pools lurking around the building. She looks dressed to exercise, running tights and tank top tucked beneath a zip up coat. Her eyes slide to the computer in front of her and she begins to type away. 

“Here to schedule a battle?” she guesses in a monotone. 

“Yes, I am,” Serena takes a deep breath and pulls out her trainer card. “Tomorrow morning please.”

The receptionist takes the card and types out her information. This process is new and lets trainers schedule their battles so that they can plan for the next one. It also reduces the amount of physical fights over who gets to fight the leader next. 

“Of course, be here by nine,” the woman hands her back the card. “Good luck.”

On the way to the pokemon center, Serena can barely contain her excitement for her second official battle the next morning. Espeon watches her with a fond smile, as she trots at the same speed as Serena, drinking in the girl’s happy energy and dancing with her. The late afternoon light casts a golden glow on the city. Many of the day workers are going home for the night and many nocturnal pokemon are starting to come out. 

Back in the Pokemon Center, the trainers are retreating to their rooms with their faithful companions beside them. Serena makes a pit stop at the phones to call Clair as promised to update her on her journey so far. Her studies have been going well and she demands an update at each town Serena stops in. Lance is so far ahead of her, she’s sure that Clair already knows about the news of the upcoming battle...

“Your first gym battle all by yourself!” Clair coos over the phone as a greeting. 

Serena rolls her eyes at the screen, “Always treating me like a baby.”

“You’re fine,” she waves off her friend’s complaint. “Are you nervous?”

“Of course!” Serena exclaims. “I can’t battle as well as Lance, he’s already been through here, did you know? I’m surprised he doesn’t have all eight badges now.”

“Don’t act like Lance can do everything, it’s gross,” Clair wrinkles her nose at her friend. “You’re doing just fine. It doesn’t matter that he’s going through it faster than you, you’re putting in as much effort as he is.”

“I didn’t mean it like he can do everything,” Serena replies with a pout. “I meant it as he’s already so much farther than I am... But thank you. I wanna work faster, but I have three pokemon. Two of which, I need to train and the other I can’t train because she doesn’t want to battle. She’s still another mouth to feed and a pokemon to take care of.”

“How is the mystery of Espeon?” Clair leans closer to the screen spying the psychic type next to her. 

“I haven’t found anything yet, Cerulean isn’t big enough for her. She didn’t recognize any of the buildings here.”

“Huh, I wonder where she came from,” Clair muses. “Does she like to battle?”

“Kind of? She gets excited at the thought. To be honest, I don’t think she was ever used to battle.”

Clair tilts her head, her brows furrowing together. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean, she doesn’t have that much strength and she’s kind of clumsy. I think she was just a pet more than anything,” Serena speaks in a lower tone into the phone. Besider her, Espeon stares at the empty main hall. She feels terrible talking about Espeon like this, she’s not her concern. But if the pokemon wants to fight why wouldn’t her trainer, well,  _ train _ her? It’s just strange. “I ask her to join me, but she doesn’t want me to be in charge of her.”

“Do you want to keep her?” 

Serena ponders this question for a moment, sucking in her bottom lip and tilting her head side to side. Espeon is a sweet pokemon, a little defensive and sassy, but she means well for herself. Being a new trainer may not be good for the pokemon. Serena can barely handle a battle, how is she going to be the trainer of a pokemon like Espeon? 

“I’m not sure.”

“I think you could make her into a powerful team member,” the blue haired girl clenches her fist and grins at Serena. “You’re going to be a great trainer, stop lollygagging and get out there!”

Up until now, Serena’s uncertainty was about whether or not she was going to take on the league. She doesn’t feel like that is just it for her, take on all those trainer and then what? Oooh, a trophy, how great. She wants to do something meaningful, that will last longer than a news headline. Now that she has started the challenge, the problem is that her battling skills aren’t as good as they should be for it. She wanted to solve the mysteries in her life and get Espeon home, the side quest is the Indigo League and she can’t take it lightly. 

“I’ll do my best.”


	15. Change of Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a note when Serena is journaling, it's not going to be the complete entry. Just snippets of what is important.

**_April 15th_ **

_Kent was amazing help! I beat the Cerulean gym no problem. Dratini managed to wipe the floor with them in no time._

_My time spent in Cerulean was great, the city is beautiful and there was so much to see. The aquarium was my favorite place to be, I bought a few postcards from there and put them in the mail for Mom, Dad and Clair. I miss Clair and hope to see her again soon. It’s hard pushing myself on my own; everything was easier when Clair was being tough on me. She sent me a letter telling me all about her classes. They seem challenging, but Clair is smart and doing well compared to the other students. I believe she will be a gym leader no problem in Blackthorn._

_They’d be fools not to hire her._

_My next stop is Vermillion City. I can’t wait to see the ocean view! Lance says it’s beautiful there, he called me the other day to check up on me. He has three badges already and is taking a break in Celadon City where his next battle is. I hope to do lots of sightseeing in Vermillion, and maybe grab a few pictures too. Espeon has been itching to travel around faster, I’m hoping the big city she is from is Vermillion._

_She’s not as cold as she used to be with me. She enjoys watching me battle and will even cheer us on, but most times she is sleeping or ignoring me. I hope I find her trainer and everything is okay. My first plan of action is to stop by the police station and see if there were any reports in the city._

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Serena wakes up in a cold sweat. Her eyes burst open, interrupting a dreamless, restless sleep. The bed’s warmth envelops her in a comfy cocoon as she just lays there and takes in the silence of the morning. Beside her, Espeon slumbers with her body now draped across her calves. Her body emanates most of the warmth keeping Serena comfortable and sleepy. 

The room is quiet, which is a surprise, aside from some light snoring from the other occupants. Turning her head to the side, she sees some light trinkling in from the window. It’s way too early to be up, her gym battle can’t be for another few hours. 

Getting up early to walk has thrown off her sleep schedule. Goodbye to sleeping in until noon. Instead, she is up at five and hitting the road by six with Ty beside her. It’s great for getting to places fast, but bad when she’s staying in a town for more than a few days. She reaches up for her phone, the light shines bright as she checks the time. 

Five in the morning. Fantastic. 

The light peeking in from the window is a gentle blue, as if it’s trying to ease her from her sleep. Serena sighs turning onto her back to stare up at the bunk above her. She got a room filled with other trainers and they’re all snoring. Ty snuggles her more from the blanket, his little squeak makes her heart jump. She turns to him and buries her face in his stomach. 

“Ty, we gotta get moving,” she mumbles into his soft fur. He groans and places his back paw on her face to push her away. She giggles and uncovers them both. Her voice is just above a whisper. “I’m going to get ready, so you have a few more minutes before we leave.”

Serena uses the light from her phone to find her day clothes from the bag. Earlier this week she found a flyer talking about a volunteer opportunity with the Pokemon House. There’s a village filled with pokemon outside of Cerulean City, and the house takes care of pokemon that are too sick to be in the forest. Every so often, they gather a bunch of volunteers to take out to the forest to clean it up, plant some trees or other plants, and to care for the pokemon. She was intrigued by it and signed up to volunteer for the full week. 

In a few hours, she has to head out to the Pokemon House to be picked up along with other volunteers. She’s heard of this program before, it helps a lot of students go on to be nurses, vets and other pokemon related jobs. While she doesn’t want a job like that, she would love the opportunity to work in this setting. 

For one week, she’ll be living in the woods with other people helping take care of pokemon and nature. The thought brings a spark of excitement to her and that’s why she signed up. 

Planning the next few hours, she gets laced up, packed up and ready to go eat breakfast. Ty is sprawled out on the bed, his snore joining the symphony of others in the room. She rolls her eyes and hoists the pokemon up into her arms. His small body weighs quite a lot for an unevolved pokemon. He barely rouses out of his slumber, she hushes him gently as they slip out of the room without waking any of the trainers.

Once outside, Serena feels the pressure to be quiet lift as other trainers make their way towards the cafeteria. Soft music plays from the speakers around the hall and she finds herself heading towards the vending machines. She passes some trainers talking amongst themselves, her eyes stay on Ty as they stride by until their voices disappear down the hall. Ty lets out a coo of comfort, she smiles in return.

Inserting some coins, she opts for a smoothie and a fresh sandwich from the machine. Ty gets a bit of his breakfast as he’s set on the ground before she heads to the front desk to turn in her room key. Once outside, the morning air is cool and calm, the sky is a mix of pastel oranges, pinks and blues. Her scars tingle as the cool breeze brushes over them, she grimaces at the feel of it. Like sweat dripping down her back after a strange dream.

She zips up her sweater and picks up Ty once more, he happily obliges and gets comfortable in her embrace. Cyndaquil have such warm bodies, and his is a relief. Being close to his trainer makes Cyndaquil happy and relaxed in her arms and against her chest. 

Serena takes an immediate right as she leaves the center behind and moves in the direction the map she memorized last night informed her. She makes it to the end of the street when, to her right, Serena catches sight of a large white van just outside the Pokemon House. There’s a small group of people gathered outside of it. As she approaches the building an older woman beams at her. 

“Hello! Are you here to volunteer today?” she holds up a clipboard. 

“Yes,” she responds and then states her name. “Serena Lockwood... For the week.”

“Yep, I see you right here,” the woman points to her name. “I need a signature... Okay, so we have a free shirt for you and a little baggy of supplies for you to have out there. Take a seat in the van we will be leaving soon and once we get there you’ll be informed of all you have to do!”

“Okay, thank you,” Serena accepts the red bag and heads towards the van. 

A group of teenagers stand right outside of it conversing  as if they know each other well. Their presence makes Serena feel torn, she wants to say hi, but on the other hand, why? She returns Ty to his pokeball and tries to sneak by without a word. Her heart pounds as she slips by them, would they say something? Nope. She’s free to get in the van without a word, much to her relief. 

The group outside continues their talk of their week and how they hope the rest of the week will go. They sound like seasoned volunteers with how they’re naming off people, places and pokemon. She smiles at how they talk with each other, so familiar and happy, just like her, Clair and Lance. Her heart aches for the days she could just walk down the street to see them. 

Lance is so far ahead now and she doesn’t get to hear from him as often as she used to, but it can only be expected. He loves being out here and on his own. When he does check in with her, it’s great, and they talk for hours on end. His adventures are way more dangerous than hers and for that she’s grateful. Clair, however, is having no fun being at home with her class. She is learning so much in a short amount of time and doing tests every few weeks. She may hate it, but Serena knows just how badly she wants to be a gym leader and show how tough she is. She knows she’ll make it. 

Serena admires the two of them for their ambition and devotion for something that they love. At the same time, she is bitter because she doesn’t have the same ambition for anything and this is her journey. She is supposed to be ambitious about something while here and, yet, she is just wandering...

“Let’s get this show on the road!” one of the guys from the small group hops into the van next to Serena. 

The others laugh and pile in right behind him and immediately the van is filled with loud uplifting music. Despite the sudden noise, Serena finds herself laughing and smiling alongside them. Their energy is swirling around the van, pulling away any worries about the week ahead. 

Once the driver gets it going, the van takes off through the city. All the buildings pass by in a blur, Serena watches with wonder as the buildings turn into trees and lush green shrubbery. The others in the van are singing camp songs, boasting about their time volunteering and exchanging jokes. Almost everyone in the van knows each other Serena confirms from her earlier assessment. She watches from her spot as they talk with each other with big smiles, pointing at parts of the forest they may have frequented or loved. 

Soon the van is rolling to a gentle stop and Serena is being herded from the van into a large wooden building. The camp is pretty small, one building for lunch, one for bathrooms and showers, one for the dorms and another for the administration and security building. It’s a cute campsite run by all natural means with many pokemon roaming about. As she enters the lunch building, Serena spies seven tables lined up in the middle with a foam board in front of them with a team of five adults at the front. They look content with the people rushing in to join those that are already there. 

Serena stays with the group she came with as they take a seat at the back table and quiet down in time for one of the women to speak. She’s a short woman, wearing dark pants and a white shirt with a red pokeball logo on it and the words manager at the top. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a small bun, neat and put together. Serena takes interest in her immediately. 

“Welcome newcomers! My name is Jean Chambers. I’m going to keep this short so that we can get started. The team that came in is Team 7, you can come up with a nickname tonight. You will stay with those members in the bunks and leave to your areas with them. If there are any questions, let your leaders know, they are wearing the white shirts,” she states and then turns to the board. “Now, everyone else will have the same areas and work to do, while the newcomers will be tending to the pokemon around the village.”

This news gets Serena pumped as Jean begins to outline a few changes to the duties of the volunteers. She is quick to get to the point with appropriate amount of detail. The way she talks is informative and firm. Her arms swing and her face is set in a smile even while she is talking with her fellow employees. Serena decides almost immediately that she likes her. 

“7, you’ll be out in the forest. Your lunch will be delivered later, be good and listen to your counselor!” she points a finger at the boys in the group, narrowing her eyes at them. 

Serena chuckles as they look around trying to look innocent. As soon as Jeans gives the go, everyone is off. Serena gets to her feet and allows herself to be ushered out with the rest of the group. 

“So, what’s your name, Silent Girl?” one of the boys bumps into her in a gentle manner. He’s bright in the face, his pale skin is stark against his black hair and like his pale blue eyes. His smile is friendly and genuine. He’s wearing an orange shirt that says 2 year volunteer, and dark khakis and hiking boots. “Is this your first time out here?”

“I’m Serena, and yes,” she smiles at him. “What’s your name?”

“Glen,” he holds out his hand. Serena takes it gently. “Where are you from? Because where I’m from we shake with firm hands.”

“I’ve moved around a lot. I started in Celadon, but I just came from Blackthorn City,” she responds. 

“Ah, the ever mysterious Blackthorn. What’s it like?” he questions as they walk up to a wooden cart. 

Some of the other staff members pack up the cart with bags, shovels and soil bags. Him and the other volunteers have gathered around to hear about her. Blackthorn City is pretty mysterious to outsiders. Serena used to wonder about it, back when her mother just talked about it at bedtime before they moved in there. She always pictured it more mystical than it turned out to be. Dragons everywhere, people running around with capes and the mountainous backgrounds providing a dangerous overtone to the city. 

“It’s pretty intense,” she admits and then pauses as they climb onto the cart. A large older male holds the reins for a Rapidash. When prompted to continue by the eager looks of the listeners, Serena chuckles. “It’s like a normal city. But with more uppity people walking around.”

“Sounds like Saffron,” the boy next to Glen snorts. 

“Are there dragons just flying around?” Glen questions, his eyes are huge and his head is tilted slightly. 

“No, I used to think the same before I got there. It’s kind of disappointing,” she shrugs. 

“But you have dragon pokemon right?” one of the younger girls hops in her seat. 

“I do,” Serena blushes at the sudden interest in her. Everyone is staring and she doesn’t know how to feel. 

“You guys stop treating her like she’s a specimen under a microscope,” one of the other girls speaks. She’s on the other side of Glen, leaning back against the cart. Her eyes are light, emerald green and her hair is a thick swath of curls. She’s wearing ripped jeans and a green shirt that says ‘3 year volunteer’. She smiles at Serena, it’s warm and welcoming. “Ask her over the course of the day.”

The group groans but there are less and less invasive questions after that to which Serena is grateful for as they make their way deep into the forest. Sunlight trickles between the tree leaves, casting a scattered bright glow on everything around them. Some pokemon scurry away at the sight of the cart, some of the kids call out the names while pointing at the different species. Serena listens with a smile, remembering her class with Clair in which they entered a contest to name the most pokemon by their silhouettes.

She tilts her head up to spy some bird pokemon as the cart rumbles to a stop, as does all conversation, and her excitement spikes. 

“Stick with us, it’ll be fun,” Glen nudges Serena before hopping off the cart and offering his hand. 

She stares at it for a quick moment, this reminds her of the dozens of times Lance and Clair helped her up, this is her time to branch out. His hand is warm and a bit rough, possibly from the work he has been doing out here, as he pulls her along to where their tools are gathered to get rid of litter and help maintain the forest. Their group rumbles with half excitement half groans as they get to work. 

The day is hot with little wind, leaving Serena sweaty and tired easily within a few hours. Glen and the girl from the cart keep a watch on her, this being her first time out there and not used to the conditions, they don’t want her to get hurt. But she keeps strong, remembering the times she trained with her father in the mountains, or even Kent. The former being in extreme conditions to help her get stronger mentally and physically. This was just strenuous. 

Despite being told they were working with pokemon, Serena is disappointed to find out that isn’t until tomorrow. They are one of two teams assigned to tending to the Pokemon's needs. The forest is vast, spreading between Cerulean half way to Vermillion City, miles and miles of forest with only a portion of it being the village. Pokemon from around the area wander in and out with trainers following them. Serena wonders how the peace is kept, pokemon in the village cannot be captured as they are being rehabilitated. Who keeps track? Are there rangers out here? 

With the sun high overhead, Serena keeps her head down and works on clearing the paths and picking up random debris and litter that may have blown in from the nearby trail to and from Vermillion and Cerulean. All the while, Glen shares with her stories of his time as a volunteer, he’s been in the business for about two years now. His parents started him off on it and, at first, he was reluctant to go. After spending a week in the woods, he came back as often as possible.

“Just the feeling of being out here brought me back the first time,” he takes a deep breath. “I’ve never been one to want to venture out of Cerulean, I don’t want to be a trainer that travels, I’d rather have civilization at arms length. I can go back and forth whenever I want.” She opens her mouth to comment when he interrupts with a rush, “Is it the same in Johto? I’m told that the only major city out there is Goldenrod. Is Blackthorn part of the mountains?”

The question strikes her as odd. She stands up and turns to him, thinking of an answer. Sure the regions didn’t get along in the past and barely acknowledge each other now, but are the people _this_ oblivious? Her frown must convey something else because Glen’s face flushes and he rushes to correct himself. 

“I-I didn’t mean... I just... What I meant was-”. 

“It’s just like Kanto,” she speaks over him, her finger coming up to tap her chin. “We’re not neanderthals scavenging for our next meal.”

Nearby the curly haired girl giggles at Glen as he stumbles over his words trying to apologize. “I just heard it was more traditional over there! I didn’t mean to say you guys were anything less.”

“Traditional doesn’t have to be old fashioned,” she points out. There’s a small smile on her face as he continues to struggle with words. “I get it, the terrible past between our regions has made for some terrible holes in our view of each other. Hell, we can’t into the League without badges from Kanto because it’s so messed up. It makes sense that it’s a complete mystery to you.”

“We’re not a mystery to you?” he questions, his voice laced with caution, as if she’ll lash out at the wrong word use. 

“Our schools taught Kanto and Johto history as a whole, at least in Blackthorn they did. I can’t speak for anywhere else,” she shrugs leaning over to pick up a stray branch at her feet. “I only know history, not what is going on in the present. I only know Kanto looks down on Johto. We’re stuck in the past while you strive for the future.”

“That’s kind of messed up,” Mystery Girl comments, her green eyes narrowed at the words. 

Serena nods, what is that girl’s name? She’s got to ask her later tonight. 

Their conversation is halted by the sound of a bell ringing in the direction of the van. The three of them gather their tools and head back to the van. They’re joined by the rest of their group, all slithering out of the woods as if it were a horror movie. Sweat drips down Serena’s face as she piles her tools with the rest and waits patiently for the food to be passed around. The sun is lower in the sky offering little relief to the humid air. She swipes at her forehead and plops down on the grass. 

“It gets better,” the curly haired girl grins at Serena. Finally, she holds out her hand. “I’m Layla.”

“Nice to meet you,” Serena beams, shaking her hand with vigor. “Thanks for getting everyone off my back before.”

“My pleasure, I know what it’s like to be observed like you’re a specimen,” she grimaces. “It’s not good. What brings you out here?”

If only she knew just how ‘not good’ it was, Serena wants to say but opts for a better option. “I’m not entirely sure. I saw the flyer and felt like taking a different path, I guess,” Serena lifts a shoulder in a lame shrug. She’s tired, sweaty and hungry. Food and a bath sound fantastic right about now. 

“Are you taking the League Challenge?” Layla leans back on her palms, watching the other kids accept their passed out meals. 

“Kind of? I’m not sure I want to be part of it... Actually, I’m not sure what my goal is,” Serena admits after some thought. 

“That’s okay,” the other girl laughs. “At least you’re out here doing something.”

That’s new. Serena never looked at it that way, such a simple and innocent thought and yet it lifts so much weight from her shoulders. It’s true, she wasn’t at home wishing to be out here. Instead, she’s out here wishing to see more. Maybe it’s a sign that she’s heading in the right direction. 

“Yeah, I just wish I had a goal. I want to be more driven like...”

“Like?” the other girl urges with a twist of her wrist.

“Like my best friend, he’s days, maybe even weeks, ahead of me. He’s been driven since we left Blackthorn, taking down gym leaders and trainers like they were stepping stones. It’s pretty amazing and expected of him,” Serena babbles and then catches herself. She tilts her head and adds, “My other best friend is at home training to take the written test to be a gym leader.”

“Wow, those are some big goals,” Layla raises her brows bringing herself to sit up right. “Do you like battling?”

Serena opens her mouth to answer but is interrupted by their lunch boxes. She accepts the container and keeps herself from ripping it open and digging in. Her cheeks flush a bit at the thought and she takes care to unbox her food. A sandwich, chips, some veggies and berries and a muffin for dessert. There are two coolers nearby, one with water and the other filled with various juices, Glen returns with a selection for the two of them. 

After a few bites, Serena answers the question. “Kind of? I like the rush of it, but I’m not really good at it.”

“You don’t always have to be good at what you like.”

“I get that much,” Serena chuckles. “I just want to get better, I feel so behind.”

“Well, what are you passionate about? What have you found yourself doing for most of your life?” Layla prods her, scooting closer so that they both face the same direction and sit close. Nearby, Glen eats with his own friends, laughing and joking around with them. They sit in their own little bubble, free to speak about whatever without fear of interruption. 

Serena considers the question, she’s pondered it so many times and always came up with the same word. “Surviving.”

The word catches Layla off guard, she coughs on the water she’d been drinking and stares at the girl with wide eyes. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

Damn. She’s just a year older than Layla and she’s already been through so much... Well, so has Layla. Survive is a strong word, one Layla can’t put to her own life. What does someone who has survived do when all that’s left is to live? She isn’t sure, but she’s started this conversation and doesn’t want to leave Serena with nothing. 

“Well, if you weren’t surviving, just living, what would you do? There has to be some relaxing times?”

“Yeah, of course,” the other girls half smiles. “I had friends, it was always the three of us. Although, I feel like I was often settling a score for them.”

“So you were the peacekeeper?” Layla muses between mouthfuls of food.

“Sometimes. Other times I was just caught up in whatever they wanted to do,” she responds with a shrug. 

“Hmm... Well, if you get better at battling you could be a gym leader,” the green eyed girl muses. “You were patient with Glen despite his ignorance to Johto. Also, you seem like a good listener and a hard worker. Plus, you were a peacekeeper, maybe a job where you’re the boss would be good.”

Serena snorts at that. “People make me nervous.”

“So? People make a lot of people nervous, but give yourself a goal and you can get something done,” Layla retorts. “I think you aren’t confident in yourself. My parents always say to never sell yourself short.”

“It seems like a lot of work,” the older girl mumbles. 

“Maybe. But you can do it.”

It grows silent as the girls eat in the receding sunlight. Serena watches all the other volunteers interact with each other. The atmosphere makes her miss Clair and Lance. If they were here there’s no doubt she’d be laughing up a storm. Instead, she’s silent as she contemplates Layla’s words. There’s no way she could work with people, she doesn’t have the charming smile her dad flashes at work, or the professionalism that her mother displays at school. Talking to more than four people terrifies her, she never knows what’s going on and she’s supposed to _direct_ people? No way.

As afternoon bleeds into evening, the kids are gathered and transported towards the center of the village. Not quite to where they came in, but closer. The cabins they will stay in are small, each one holding two bunk beds and a small bathroom. There are two groups of these cabins, four to each set across a large path from each other. One for boys and one for girls. They’re wooden with numbers painted on the outside and seem to gleam in the afternoon light. 

After being dismissed, Layla pulls Serena to the one closest to the outdoor bathrooms, the number one painted in green on the door. It’s a cute cabin with a flimsy screen door and hardwood floors. On either side of the cabin are the bunk beds jutting from the floor with a round table between them. Beside the bottom bunks are bedside tables, one each, with a lamp sitting on top. At the back is a small door leading to a tiny bathroom.

The beds have been made already and await their occupants. Layla takes the top bunk on the left with Serena right below her. Two more girls rush in with a village worker behind them, towing their bags in. Serena kicks off her shoes next to her bed and grabs her bag off the ground. 

She would rather not get her bed dirty with sweat and dirt, a shower is her first priority. Layla follows suit, placing her bag next to the other girls and digging for her own toiletries. Giggles reverberate around the room as the girls express their relief in finally being clean after a long day of working. 

“Just to warn you, it’s a traditional bath,” Layla waits at the door for Serena, their other two roommates have already gone ahead to the bath house.

“Oh,” Serena falters, her shoulders drooping. Her heart pounds as she tries to cover up her fear. “And Glen thought Johto was traditional?”

Layla laughs. “Don’t pay attention to him, he says the dumbest stuff. It’ll be fine, the girls here are nice.”

“I hope so,” she mutters following suit. “Are there separate showers?”

“Yes, but they’re bound to be full. The workers here, mainly, use them. We can with a few exceptions,” Layla explains with a pointed look. “What’s wrong?”

Serena shifts uncomfortably. “I just don’t want others to see me.”

As if in understanding, Layla puts a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “There aren’t many girls here. We can wait a few more minutes for the others to come back and then we can go. The baths don’t close until midnight and it’s only nine.”

Relief floods Serena at the idea. “Please?”

“Of course.”

The two settle at the table, their talk of nothing but observations made throughout the day. After an hour, Serena regrets her decision to wait. Sweat and dirt don’t mix well and she feels grimey as the other girls come back squeaky clean. Her back aches and burns, her scar agitated either by the dirt or her paranoia at being seen. Without another delay, Layla signals for them to head out, leading down a short path to the bath house. 

Layla enters the bath house, a building just big enough to house the boys and girls in two separate spaces. The worker at the front desk checks them in and gestures for them to move to the right. Past the frosted door, Layla is greeted by steam and the laughter of a few girls bonding in the shower. Her face flushes at the sight of naked bodies all around, but brushes it off as she heads to the lockers with Layla. 

“Is this okay?” Layla gestures to the few girls in the bath. 

Serena bites her lip. The girls seem ready to leave soon, maybe they won’t see anything?

She nods her head and follows Layla to the far wall. The two strip down and pick two cubicles right next to each other. Layla, being used to it, is open about cleaning herself, picking up the nozzle and drenching herself in warm water. Serena, however, takes her time. She stares at herself in the mirror, her reflection blurred by water and steam. Her hair is frizzy, poofing out around her, and there are dirt streaks on her stopping only where her clothes once were. She feels gross and enjoys the stream of water pouring from the shower nozzle. She keeps herself hunched over to avoid the eyes of the girls in the bath. 

Water pouring over her scar feels good and soothing.

“Hey, want me to get your back?” Layla leans over, careful to keep her eyes away to help Serena feel comfortable. 

“No thanks,” Serena answers a little too fast. “Sorry, I’m just nervous.”

“It’s okay. I was my first time here too,” Layla shrugs and holds up a loofa. “Would you mind getting my back?”

“Not at all,” the darker haired girl speaks in a light tone. She accepts the soapy loofa, the smell of fruit wafting from it. Without another thought, she scrubs Layla’s back, being careful to not dip too low or press too hard. “Does it get easier?”

“It’s up to you. If you think people are staring, it makes it harder. But if you don’t mind them staring, then it gets better,” she shrugs turning to accept the loofah back. “Thanks... Are you sure?”

“I’m good.”

The other girl shrugs and moves on to clean her hair. Serena spreads soap on her shoulders and sprays herself to wash her back. After cleaning her hair, she and Layla relax in the bath for a few minutes. The steam water irritates her back at first, she hisses at the pain until she adjusts. Then she welcomes the relief it brings, her body relaxing against the edge of the tub. 

It’s silent as the two stare up at the ceiling. The sounds of sloshing water around them, dripping water from the faucets and booming laughter from the boys fills their silence. Serena closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Her fear from earlier has subsided and she feels strange, nothing is wrong and it feels nice. She is here, in this moment, relaxed and content with someone new.

“What are you thinking about?” Layla whispers. 

“I’m relaxed.”

“Doesn’t happen often enough?”

“Nope.”

Silence.

Not long after that, Layla is the first to leave, warning Serena not to stay in for too long. After another breath, Serena pulls herself out of the bath and heads back to the changing room. With Layla tucked away in the corner, Serena is careful to keep her back away from the girl while grabbing her towel. The two get dressed in comfortable silence. With a shirt on, Serena is able to allow Layla to brush her hair back into a french braid and teach her to do the same. Though hers is sloppy, Layla keeps it in and packs up her stuff. 

“How was your first day?” Layla questions on their way back from the baths. 

Their footsteps crunch on the dirt path back to their cabin, Serena stares at the ground, half watching for any bumps half in contemplation. The overhead lamps are little help in guiding them back, but thankfully, their cabin is close. At the door, Serena pauses and glances over their camp with a half smile. 

“It was awesome.”

Layla beams at her, opening the door for her to go in, and explains the plan for tomorrow. The other two join in, offering advice to Serena on how to get the most done so they can play around in the woods before lunch. Not long after that, dinner is served, hot food brought to their cabins the first night. Their team leader comes by to count them out and make sure everyone is accounted for. Serena poses for a picture the leader takes and giggles with the other girls at the suggestion of a scary story time in their cabin. 

Laying in bed, her eyes droop, unable to stay open for long. The warmth of the bath still flowing through her veins, lulling her into a deep and restful sleep. 


	16. From the Ground Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the Kudos! I appreciate everyone reading this!  
> Layla is another OC of mine, her story will be posted after this one. Layla is where all this started, my first ever OC back when I was in high school. Getting this stories out is the main goal for me, I just post them for fun and hope that people enjoy them as much as I do. With Layla and Serena I delve more into the lore of psychics that are shown here and there in the show/games with Sabrina and few other characters because that is the most interesting and yet untouched part of the games.

“These roots are bitter, I don’t recommend just cutting them up and feeding them to your pokemon,” Melanie’s voice rings out in the small clearing. Layla is taking notes while Serena makes a more easy to remember cheat sheet for herself. Opposite to them, nearly everyone else is trying to find ways to keep themselves awake. “Mash them up and mix them with berries for a more nutritious and healthy meal. It’ll help them recover faster and keep them full.”

Overhead, a Fearow lets out a loud cry, startling a few of the students in the class. The day is warm, the sun shining bright with fluffy clouds floating by. The trees and grass rustle in a light breeze that passes every few minutes. A typical day in this part of the region. It sends a shiver down Serena’s spine with each brush of cool air. The baths have been making her scar sensitive to even the slightest touch. The thoughts of those around her have been poking at the edge of hers. It takes an effort, but her mediation in the baths have helped keep everyone’s thoughts safe. 

“Let’s take a break,” Melanie smiles at her students, noting their lack of attention. “We’ll continue with making pokemon food in ten minutes.”  
There’s a collective groan from the group, aside from Layla and Serena. The two exchange smiles at the thought of the next lesson.

“You two are such nerds,” Glen settles himself next to Serena with the usual grin on his face. 

“And? We’re learning important stuff here,” Layla retorts as Serena just shrugs, glancing away from him. “You should be interested, this stuff will keep your pokemon strong.”

“I can always get a book on this stuff... Or get a copy of Serena’s cheat sheet, look at this thing!” he tugs on the paper, pulling it from her grasp and holding it up. “This is something I would read while on the road.”

“That’s why I made it, I’m gonna get pictures of the plants to help me out,” Serena flushes at the attention on her. She reaches for the paper, taking it back and placing it on her clipboard. She doesn’t notice Glen blush at their fingers touching. “You can borrow the notes later to make a copy.”

“Oh, yeah. Uh, are you guys going to dinner?” he continues while shuffling his feet on the dirt.

“Of course, we’re always at dinner,” Serena frowns at him. “Why would we miss it today?”

“N-no, I was just wondering because, uh, there was a new group coming in today,” he responds, adjusting himself on the log. Behind Serena, Layla hides a laugh behind her hand, her eyes shining as she watches the flustered boy talk to the oblivious girl. He sends a glare her way when Serena reaches for her bag while asking about the new group. “Oh, it happens sometimes. Yeah, they’ll be here tonight for dinner. A little late though.”

“Oh, it would be nice to meet some new people,” the blue eyed girl replies with a faint smile. “I’ve been seeing the same faces for the past three days, a change in scenery would be nice.”

“You’re sick of the scenery?” Glen huffs, he crosses arms and sits up straighter.

Without glancing up from her notes, Serena hums an affirmative. “I’m joking. I love being in the forest, almost reminds me of home.”

“Minus the dragons right?” 

“Not really, I do have my dratini with me.”

Glen opens his mouth to speak again, but Melanie is back at the front commanding their attention with her voice and pokemon, Gloom. Now, her arms are wrapped around a basket full of ingredients for pokemon food. The girls’ attention turns to the woman and Glen knows that he’s lost to education, much to his horror. 

Layla’s eyes peek over to see Glen giving her a pleading look. She rolls her own, but offers a small nod at his request. Since the beginning he’s been dropping hints, everyone can tell he’s head over heels for the brunette. Unfortunately, they can also see that she’s either oblivious or not interested in return. Being the closest to Serena, at the camp, Layla is the best to ask and, in her opinion, she feels that Serena is both. 

It would be easy for his flirty quips and behavior to be passed off as him being kind and sweet. Serena could be going with the easiest explanation. Given how she talks about her childhood, as harsh as it sounds, she’s more than likely not familiar with crushes. 

Most of all, Layla just wants to know the details. 

The rest of the lesson goes by without another peep from Glen. Serena and Layla trade notes often, helping each other get all the details down. By the end of it, everyone is tired and ready to hit the hay. This was their day off before they head deeper in the village to take care of the sick pokemon. They’ve been working hard at keeping the village clean and getting everything packed up. Serena is happy to be working on the next step, especially with Layla at her side. The green eyed girl has a lot of knowledge when it comes to pokemon. 

Melanie bids the volunteers a farewell, inviting them to come back at anytime to learn more about herbs. The two girls pack their things up, chatting about the lesson while the rest of their group grumbles about a wasted day. Serena grins at them, they remind her of Clair in that aspect. She never liked being held down to do one thing when she could have been out playing or getting some stuff done. The thought brings a pang in her chest of her best friend. 

“You ready to meet some new people?” Layla bumps her hip into Serena’s as they make their way back to the main camp. 

“I guess,” she shrugs in return. “I’m indifferent to it.”

“Just excited to finally be doing something tomorrow, huh?” Layla grins. 

“Duh.”

The two go back to their room and get their stuff settled back in for dinner. Layla takes this time to regard Serena with her lips curled inward and her eyes shining. “Hey, Serena?”

“Yes?” the other girl replies coming out of the bathroom, she rubs her tummy and pouts at Layla. “I hate being bloated, although dealing with a period at a campsite is better than on the trip... sorry, you were saying?”

“I can’t even imagine...” Layla mutters, shuddering at the thought of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, bleeding and... She shakes her head and grins. “So, you and Glen are close, yeah?”

“Not really,” Serena shrugs loosening her hair for Layla to braid. “He’s a good friend, I know the basics of him, I guess.”

“Oh... Do you like him?” she asks, settling behind her at the table. Layla loves running her fingers through Serena’s thick locks, lord knows she can’t run her fingers through her curls without getting caught or messing up her style for the day. 

“Sure.”

Layla frowns, the question was not thought through. “I mean do you like-like him?”

“Oh...” Serena falls silent as she contemplates. She likes being around him, he’s sweet and energetic. He has a quick mind when it comes to witty comments and he has her laughing a lot when they talk. There hasn’t been many, if any, people that she’s really had a crush on at her school, not like she really had time between the bouts of hatred and bullying. Any slight attraction may have come from characters in books, ones she got to know intimately from the pages. Thinking back to Glen, she doesn’t feel an intense kind of warmth when it comes to him, she just wants to be around his good energy. Was that the same? 

Probably not. 

“I don’t think so.”

“What has you confused?” Layla prompts her while tugging the blue eyed girl’s hair together into a thick plait. 

“I mean no, actually,” Serena corrects herself. “I was just thinking too hard... Um, I like him as a person. I want to get to know him more and possibly stay in touch, but I don’t see, uh, anything beyond that.”

Layla agrees with this, humming her agreement, it makes sense. You can’t help what you have no control over and she says as much. At Serena’s sigh of relief, she presses the matter further. 

“It’s not that I needed you to tell me that it’s okay to not like him,” Serena replies after a short pause. She shifts on the chair, wringing her hands and taking another breath. “I just noticed that I’ve never really had a crush?”

Her tone rises at the end, making Layla chuckle. “That’s okay, you were busy worrying about other things in your childhood. Crushes aren’t the only thing in life you’ll ever need, you’re happy, right?”

“Yes.”

“There’s your answer,” Layla shrugs, twisting the last piece of hair together. She pats the girl’s shoulders. “Well, he likes you and if he does anything about it, just let him know you don’t feel the same. Until then, ready for some dinner?”

Serena smiles. She never really worried about having a crush until this moment. Layla was right, she  _ was _ busy worrying about other things; mainly, a whole clan that wanted her and her family gone. Not only that, but all her classmates hated her. There’s no way she’d have a chance with any of them even if she had found any attractive. 

She shrugs off the topic in favor of heading to dinner with the older girl. 

The afternoon is warm and lit by an orange, setting sun. Sounds of laughter and hollering reaches their ears as the girls approach the gathering area. The center of the campsite is alive with all the volunteers chatting, running around and eating. Today’s day off is celebrated by everyone it seems, even the staff are partaking in the games. It’s a sight to see for Serena, she feels a surge of warmth watching everyone in their high spirits. 

Glen is already sitting with the new kids by the time they make it to the table. It’s a group of five people, possibly teenagers. Serena isn’t sure, they look young enough to be her age, but they have the facial features of young adults. Either way, she and Layla are welcoming to them and join in their conversation with ease. 

During dinner, Serena is mindful of her proximity to Glen. Every move in her direction is met with a counter move or feigned ignorance so she does not pass off as rude. Her mind races with the possibility of him getting mad, but dinner goes by with ease and the new kids scurry off in search of their cabin. 

“Did they seem a little off to you?” Layla brings up later in the baths. 

Serena glances over to find her eyes closed, but her brows furrowed and lips scrunched. Despite Layla not seeing it, she still shrugs and settles back in the tub. “Maybe they’re shy? I was like that in the beginning.”

“Yeah, but you were interested in what we had to say,” the other girl continues, but ends up shrugging it off too. “Everyone is different, I have to learn to be a little more trusting.”

 

**_XxXxXxX_ **

“Hey, have you guys seen Justin?” Glen catches up to the two the next day while the teams are weeding the gardens by the village. 

It’s hot and sunny with an occasional breeze offering some comfort as they all work under the sun. Serena has come to love the heat and often finds herself basking in the wind every time it passes, her scars tingling in its wake. All teams are at the main site today doing some cleaning up as most of their groups are going to be leaving in the next few days; including Serena. 

“Who’s that?” she tilts her head. 

“One of the new kids from yesterday,” Glen gives her an incredulous look. “I thought you were paying attention!”

“No, we haven’t seen him,” Layla interrupts the conversation. “I thought he was supposed to be with you?”

“Yeah, exactly why I am looking for him,” Glen rolls his eyes. 

“Stop being rude,” Serena frowns at him. 

“Sorry...” he mutters back. “A-anyways, will you guys help me find him?”

The two share a glance, Layla’s is furrowed with worry while Serena’s is open to it, finally they share a shrug. Glen opts to start at the main building as that is where they received their assignments for the day. A blast of cool air greets them as they enter through the doors to find two teams deep cleaning the place along with staff. 

“There are Anya and Darrel,” Glen mutters under his breath as they pass the other two new kids. The two barely pay them any mind as they pass, Layla doesn’t miss the glance they give each other when they do. Serena’s mind prickles at the energy in the room and she nearly trips into Glen. “Whoa, you okay?”

“Y-yeah, just had a brain fart,” she recovers. “Let’s continue.”

Glen drags them all over the building only for Justin to appear right outside the entrance after an hour of searching. He looks disheveled and jittery as the three approach. Serena wrinkles her nose at him while Layla narrows her eyes. Glen is oblivious to his state, his shoulders relax as he rushes up to pat Justin’s back. 

“Dude! We’ve been searching everywhere for you!” 

“Oh, I w-was just in the shed picking up,” Justin shoves his hands in his pockets and glances at the girls. “Where were you guys?”

“In there,” Layla jerks her thumb behind her. “Looking for you.”

“Yeah, sorry. I-I forgot my assignment,” he shrugs.

“You’re with me on garbage duty,” Glen wraps an arm around his shoulder and drags him off. He turns to wave at the girls. “Thanks for your help, we’ll see you later!”

“I’ve never seen anyone so happy to be on garbage duty,” Serena admits as she and Layla wave the two off. “Justin looks so disgusted.”

“Glen is very much an optimist,” Layla rolls her eyes. “Come on, let’s get back to weeding. 

 

**_April 18th_ **

_ My stay at the village is almost done. I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave, it’s so much fun out here. Layla is so good working with Pokemon, she knows exactly what they need and how to help them efficiently. She’s so cool, I want to be like her. Organized, confident... Driven. I’ve been working close with her to see how she works and I can’t really tell what it is. People listen to her, she can be nit picky at times, but it’s for the best. She’s been here for so long because she wants to be like Nurse Joy when she’s older. Taking care of pokemon and possibly even performing surgeries on them, too.  _

_ I hope to find something that makes me driven like that for me soon... _

_ I managed to send a few emails yesterday to my parents and Clair. They were worried when I was not responding to phone calls at the pokemon center. I was worried Dad was going to send an entire team to find me. But I got to talking with them and they’re happy that I’m doing something a little different on my travels.  _

_ Lance is still in Celadon, he’s been training hard and hasn’t answered my email. I imagine he’s busy doing his own thing.  _

_ I’ve been here for three days and, so far, all is going well. I’m probably going to stay for another four or so. I’ve allotted my time to give myself the chance to take breathers like this. My pokemon like it out here as well. They’re not allowed outside the cabins unless under supervision, they don’t want any unauthorized battles with wild pokemon or not. That’d be a mess.  _

_ Anyways, everyone was so excited to see Dratini.  _

_ Well, not everyone.  _

_ Some were terrified, but I didn’t care. Dratini would never hurt anyone. She’s still pretty small, but she’s getting stronger! I can tell.  _

_ Unfortunately, I just thought of a new problem: by staying here for a week I am setting back their training for a week! Oh no, that’s not good... I’ll have to work three times as hard to catch up to everyone else... _

_ These next few weeks will be interesting. _

 

“Why are you so scared of me seeing your back?” Layla questions from the space next to Serena. She’s braiding her hair and pinning it up to prepare for the hot bath next. 

Serena pauses in her cleaning to stare at the girl next to her. “I’m not scared. I’m uncomfortable.”

“Oh, okay. Do you have bacne?” she moves on, picking up her items and placing them in her bag carefully. 

“What? No!” Serena shouts, it echoes in the empty room, making Layla laugh. “Don’t laugh, I don’t!”

“Then what is it? You can tell me, you know.”

Serena’s heart feels like it’s going to pound of her ribcage and down the drain at her feet. There are four people that have seen her scars, to her that’s just enough. Layla doesn’t mean harm by it, she tells herself while taking quiet deep breaths. She likes Layla a lot, the bond they share is different than hers and Clair’s. They’ve only spent a few days with each other, but it’s been three  days of bonding with her. Trusting her and coming to answers she didn’t know she had because Layla was open to talking about it. 

Her journey has been about her taking chances, battling against gym leaders, training with Kent, leaving for this volunteering trip and making new friends. Her friendship with Layla is something she wants to last, so maybe...

“You don’t have to tell me,” Layla’s hand on her shoulder surprises her. Serena glances up to see the other girl standing behind her with her face turned away to ensure she doesn’t see her back. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t upset me,” she replies in a quick breath. “I was just thinking. If you want to look you can, but I will not explain it.”

“I understand,” Layla shrugs, but doesn’t turn to look. “Let’s get in the baths already.”

The two soak in silence for what seems like hours before they are getting out and drying off. It’s silent as Serena pulls on her sweatpants and tank top, she hasn’t heard a noise from Layla about her scars and she doesn’t feel comfortable asking if she has looked. Picking up her bag, Serena turns to see Layla waiting at the entrance with a smile. She finds herself unable to care if Layla looked and exits the baths with her for the last time.

“Are you excited to leave in the morning?” Layla questions as they make their way back to their cabin.

“Yes and no,” Serena replies with a grimace. “I like it here and I’m gonna miss everybody.”

“We’re gonna miss you.”

_ Crunch! _

The two pause at the sudden sound coming from behind their cabin. Their eyes dart to each other’s and hold there. Serena’s heart slows, evening out her breath like her father taught her. Layla’s is in a frenzy, but she’s outwardly calm. The cabins next to theirs are quiet and dark. Another crunch draws Serena close to the wall of their cabin, her hands reach out to grab Layla’s and draw her close. 

The other girl huddles into her side, her breathing getting heavy as the crunches lead away from them. Serena peeks around the edge of the cabin, and is greeted by nothing but darkness. Her eyes skim the grassy patches and spaces between the trees and find nothing. She turns back to Layla with a shake of her head. 

“Must have been a pokemon,” she shrugs it off before heading up the steps to the door. “Come on, before it decides to come back.”

Layla shrugs it off and scurries in after Serena and locking the door behind her with a worried puff of air. Serena laughs at her friend while organizing her clothes into her backpack and stuffing away everything she will be taking with her in the morning. Being her last day, she will be at breakfast and then will leave in the van around 8:30 back to Cerulean City. From there, she’ll have to call her parents and Clair before getting a start on traveling and training. 

Stuffing her bag under her bed and slipping under the covers, Serena’s eyelids droop as she watches Layla get ready for bed. The soft glow of the lamp on the table outlines her smooth, golden brown skin, skin like Serena’s own. Layla hums to herself while pulling her hair back into a braid for sleeping, her curls tamed by skilled hands as the younger girl drifts off without another thought. 

**_OoO_ **

Serena’s eyes open before anyone can even knock on the door. She sits up with a quiet gasp when the knock does happen. Layla’s breathing silences and Serena hears her shift as she is stirred from sleep. Darkness drowns them, it’s not yet four in the morning. 

Another knock sends Serena out of her bed and into the chill of the cabin. She creeps to the door before leaning against it and closing her eyes. Her mind reaches out to one that is familiar and she pulls the door open with baited breath. 

“Glen? What are you doing here?” she whispers in the night. 

He says nothing, only rushes in and closes the door behind him. “I think there’s trouble.”

“Mm’wha?” Layla rubs the sleep out of her eyes and turns to get out of bed. “What time is it?”

“It’s too early for a visitor that’s for sure,” Serena moves to turn on the bathroom light. She dodges Glen’s hand to stop her. “It’ll be less conspicuous than the lamp and if we have to stop something from happening, I’m not running out there bra-less and shoeless.”

His hand curls away and he nods. “I think it’s the new people.”

Layla and Serena don’t hold back their heavy eye rolls. Of course it is. 

The two are silent as they take turns going to the bathroom to change. While one is changing, the other comforts Glen as he tells the tale of how he was woken up by the sound of footsteps outside of his cabin and then voices. He followed the voices to the edge of the campsite and heard all of the newcomers, Anya, Darrel, Tyler, Amber and Justin, talking amongst each other. Serena can barely keep up with what he is saying, her head is swimming with questions. That was all their names? She doesn’t remember meeting them all...

“They’re going to what?” Layla hisses in the darkness as Serena puts her stuff away. The older girl turns to Serena. “Grab your pokeballs, we gotta go save them.”  
“Who?”

“The sick pokemon,” Layla grabs her belt with pokeballs and straps it on with a wrench of her hands. She looks like a girl on a mission and suddenly, Serena feels older and ready to go with her. “We have to get there and stop them before those pokemon get worse.”

“Wait, what are we to do?” Glen stops them at the door, his hands raised in front of him. “How can we do this?”

“You have to show us where they went and we are going to follow them,” Layla states it while brushing away Glen’s hands away. “No time to be a coward, right Serena?”

Serena grins, gathering her pokeballs on her belt. “Right.”

Glen is silent and Serena can’t see his face once the bathroom light shuts off. Into the darkness the three go, into the cool air of spring that nips at Serena’s nose and ears as they sneak around the back of the cabin. They pass the back of the outdoor bathrooms, and into the forest after Glen. He is quiet and clumsy as they climb over logs and through prickly bushes. 

Serena is about to speak up and ask if they’re going the right way when Glen halts in front of them. The two nearly knock him over, managing to catch themselves without making a big commotion. He ducks down behind a bush, waving his hands at them to do the same. Layla is the first to part the leaves of the bush and peer at the light flickering ahead. Shadows dance in the flame of a fire as laughter, sick and dark, bubbles up in the darkness. 

Glen whimpers between the two girls, they nudge him to hush him up, and peer closer. They count five figures, all of them moving around the fire and tying up other figures in the darkness. Layla grimaces at the cry of a hurt pokemon and pulls out a pokeball. 

“I’ll create a distraction, you and Glen go free the pokemon while I draw their attention away,” Layla turns back. Her hands are shaking and she looks terrified, but Serena can feel the energy seeping out of her. “Whatever you hear or see, just keep working on freeing those pokemon.”

“Wh-what?” Glen tries to make sense of Layla’s warning, but is shoved by her in the direction of the forest. 

“Let’s go,” Serena grabs Glen by the hand and drags him away. They will have their answers later.

They go in a wide arc to cover the sound of their footprints and to get a better angle on them. As they approach, Serena can see the rope tied around the pokemon as they’re tossed onto a wooden cart. She grits her teeth and debates using her own powers here, but the thought of Glen and Layla seeing makes her freeze. 

“There’s the distraction,” Glen tugs on Serena’s arm as a blast of air knocks the group of five away from the fire. 

The flame flickers, threatening total darkness, making everything more ominous as light and dark fought to take over. Serena moves out, sprinting to the cart and sliding to the first group of pokemon, a cluster of Oddish tied together. The grass types are trembling and flinch as Serena slides up to them and reaches out to them. She hushes them and makes quick work of their bindings, her shaky fingers barely managing to free them. 

Behind them, they hear a scream and a flash of blue light. Glen steals a quick look, pales and glances away. He shakes his head at Serena’s questioning glance and moves on to other groups of pokemon. She does the same, not risking a glance despite the appearance of a green flash at the edge of her vision. Was that real? Is she imagining the strange feeling in her body?

“Hey!” one of the girls, one Serena doesn’t remember, screams in their direction. “You two  _ brats _ better stop!”

“Keep going!” Serena shouts after Glen and stands up in the middle of the camp. She spies Layla battling three of them with two pokemon; Pidgeotto and a weird blue pokemon. No signs of the strange lights anywhere, but the battle still looks fierce. The girl and Justin come running over calling forth Raticate and Ekans. “Ty and Wynn, let’s do this!”

Serena takes a deep breath as she begins to worry.  _ I can do this _ .

“Wynn use thunder wave!” she shouts clenching her fists. 

“Raticate tackle attack!”

“Ekans poison sting!”

Sucking in air, Serena turns to Ty. “Use Ember to stop the poison sting.”

From the dratini’s forehead comes a blue stream of electricity, it snakes out across the field, missing Ekans but striking the charging Raticate square in the face. The rat pokemon falls back, it’s body trembling as the girl shouts for it to get up. Ekans hisses, recoiling from the electricity, but once safe spits out white glowing needles from its mouth at Serena’s two pokemon. Dratini hides behind Ty as the little pokemon leaps forward and releases a barrage of small flames from his mouth. 

The needles are burnt up and turn into a sickly looking white cloud of smoke.

“Bite!” the cry comes from the other side. 

Ekans bursts from the cloud, its jaws wide open as it encases cyndaquil and clamps down on the pokemons body. Serena grimaces at the cry of pain and bites her lip. 

_ Focus on the moment, don’t think about the future. Make your next move... now! _

“Ty, smokescreen if you can! Dratini, help him out with twister!” Serena speaks in a calm voice, Kent’s words flooding her mind from their training. 

Ty chokes out black smoke, wiggling his body to free himself from the snake’s grasp. The area is covered in black smoke before being hurtled away by the furious funnel from Dratini. Ekans is knocked back into a shaking Raticate. This frees the normal type from its paralysis.

“Get back in there with super fang!” the girl points forward, a smirk growing on her face. 

“Trap them with Acid!” the boy joins in. 

Serena grits her teeth, her eyes sweeping the field as the opposing two charge forward. She has only seconds to act and she does so without thought. Courage burning in her chest as she raises her hand, her fingers splayed as she calls out orders. “Wynn sand attack, cover the field! Ty, use dig!”

Wynn is quick, her large body slithers around the smaller pokemon, her scales tossing dirt into the sky. This provides a cover for them as the acid falls onto an empty patch and Raticate’s jaws shut on nothing but dirt. The two pokemon glance around before Ty erupts from the ground, his head slamming into Ekans and tossing the pokemon into the air. Raticate recovers from its confusion and turns to bite the fire type, its teeth glowing white as it clamps down on him. 

“Cynda!” the pokemon cries out in pain, writhing Raticate’s grip. 

“Wynn, help him out with Wrap,” Serena huffs as Ekans struggles to get up. “Hurry!”

She nods and swoops her body around the normal type, her scales scratching against the pokemons fur causes it to lose its grip on Ty and send the fire type to the ground. Serena pulls out her pokeball to return him when he shakes his head and dodges the red light. She frowns at him, stomping her foot and shaking the ball at him. 

“Ty, come back now!” she orders him, but falters when he kicks the dirt and huffs. “Ugh! Fine, finish off Ekans with Ember.”

He nods, rearing his body on the tired purple pokemon and releasing more flames. Ekans is knocked back and faints at the feet of its trainer. The boy glares at Serena, returning the pokemon and pocketing the ball. The girl sneers and does the same with her now fainted Raticate. Huffing and puffing, Ty sits at Serena’s feet and stares the two down.

Behind them, there’s a thump of more pokemon fainting and the happy cry of Layla for winning the battles. Serena turns to see her and grins, impressed that she had won with two pokemon against three, though hers are probably a lot stronger than her opponents. To her right, she spies Glen freeing all their pokemon and offering them berries to feel better in the moment. 

“Dammit,” the girl swears and takes the arm of the boy next to her. “We have to report mission failure.”

“Fuck, Boss is not going to be happy,” he grits his teeth before pulling out something dark and tossing it into the fire. 

The resulting explosions knocks everyone to their knees and turns everything black. Serena inhales some of the smoke and begins coughing. In the darkness, she hears Layla shout and a powerful blast of wind knocks the smoke away. The rising sun illuminates the way to Serena as the younger brunette rushes over with her pokemon in tow. The water type spits bubbles into the older girls face to clear it of soot and clear away dirt in her throat. 

“T-thank y-y-you,” Serena spits out a wad of blackened water as Layla pats her back. “Wha-”  
“That was awesome!” Glen cheers. 

The girls whip their heads to see him grasping a few of the grass types just as the sun peeks over the horizon. Drenched in morning light, Glen looks happier than they’ve ever seen him and the two can’t help but giggle and lean on each other. Their breathing has yet to even out from the fight, and choking in Serena’s case, and their minds are still reeling from the events. 

“No better way to end your time at camp, huh?” Layla finally moves to get up. She reaches back for Serena and pulls the girl to her feet.

“Nope,” she laughs before gasping and looking around for Ty. She finds him panting on the ground next to Wynn and gathers him in her arms. “Oh man, you did so well! But do not scare me like that ever again!”

Ty offers a quick nuzzle into her neck and a sigh before he begins to glow white. She feels a surge of energy rush towards him, like water rushing down the drain in a sink. Everyone is frozen as he elongates and grows heavier in her arms, forcing her to put him down. He shakes off the white light and glances up at her, a grin forming on his face as he leaps up to be in her arms again. 

“Whoa!” she grunts, struggling to hold up Ty in his new form. “You evolved.”

“Yep, he’s a Quilava now,” Layla confirms with a grin. “All that hard work paid off, I’ll say.”

“Well, hello,” Serena coos at her new pokemon, kissing his head. “Let’s get you two back to be checked out before we leave.”

Ty willingly enters his ball and, after a quick kiss, Wynn does the same. Layla checks over the pokemon a few times before the three head back. With the fire put out and the cart still intact, they deem it safe enough to leave the area until they can return with the police at the camp. Glen is silent as they head back, Serena and Layla share a look before the two wrap their arms around his shoulder. 

“Don’t look so glum, you still have us,” Layla pokes his cheek.

He releases a sigh, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah, but Serena is leaving soon.”

“Okay, but she’s not dying,” Layla retorts. “You still have me and that will suffice until we see her again.”

He huffs again before nodding and putting his arms around the two and pulling them close. 

“Thanks for your help, I was an idiot, huh?”

“Just a little,” Serena pats his back, she tries not to meet his gaze when they’re this close. Thankfully, the camp comes into view and the three disengage upon setting foot on the path to the main center. “Let’s go report what happened.”

On their way to the main building they are brushed aside by a squad of armed cops. Serena rolls her eyes at the late response, as they continue on to talk to the head of the camp, Jean and Melanie. The response is explosive, orders are yelled, the cops run off into the forest using their directions and each are taken into a meeting room to give their accounts of the events. Serena is calm throughout the exchange, having been through it all before she knows the drill. Glen is shaky and can barely hold himself together as he’s lead into the room and Layla is indifferent, if a little nervous. 

It takes a couple of hours and lots of repeating answers before their statements are filed away, parents are called and informed and they are free to go. No longer able to leave at her original time, Serena decides to head back to their cabin, pack up and trudge over to the cafeteria. Jean promised to take her to Cerulean herself once she was done with the police and offered Serena, Glen and Layla to eat brunch while they wait. 

A bunch of the other campers surround their table, desperate for answers as to what happened. They had all heard the explosion and saw smoke rise into the sky. That’s when Melanie made everyone stay in their cabins until it could be sorted out and to make sure everyone was okay. When the three were determined missing, Jean sent for the police to come help. 

The rumors flying around were crazy. Layla recruited the two and was trying to steal pokemon. Glen’s outgoing demeanor was a distraction from the girls’ plot. Glen was using the girls to steal the pokemon. Serena was second in command to Layla, using her dragon type to help funnel pokemon illegally.

All three are wiping tears of laughter away at the theories circulating the camp.

“Impressive,” Layla comments with a shake of her head. 

The front door slamming shut silences everyone as Jean stands at the door and motions for Serena to come when she’s ready. The brunette wrings her hands and stares at everyone. She didn’t get to know every single person but she feels her heart ache for them. They warmed up to her, better than she thought they would and now it’s time to go. Glen and Layla walk her out, stopping at the doors to give her a hug. 

Layla squeezes her tight and pats her hair. “Don’t forget to email me. I had lots of fun with you here.”

“I did too, thank you... for everything,” Serena takes her hands in hers and squeezes them. 

Layla nods and takes a deep breath to fight her tears. She turns the other brunette in the direction of Glen. 

“This isn’t goodbye,” he states with a grin. He wraps her up in a hug, his arms are strong as he gives her a nice squeeze. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“I hope so,” she smiles up at him as he rests his hands on her shoulders. 

The intense look in his light blue eyes freezes her on the spot. He sweeps his black hair out of his face and grins. “I hope you find something to work for.”

The gesture brings tears to Serena’s eyes and she gathers him in another hug. “Thank you.”

She turns away from the two before the crying can get worse and hops into Jean’s van. The older woman smiles and pulls out of the main circle with a few honks of her horn. The trip back seems even faster than the first time. Serena watches the forests give way to streets and homes and eventually the pokemon center. Jean congratulates Serena on her good deeds and tells her she’s always welcome at the sanctuary. 

Shutting the door, Serena waves as the van pulls a ‘u’ turn and disappears back the way they came. With a heavy sigh, she stalks into the center straight up to the counter and deposits her pokemon there. Ty and Dratini were taken care of during her interviews, but this is her being cautious. She’s never battled like that before, two pokemon, that’s a new concept they didn’t teach in school...

The phones catch her eyes and she pops over there to make some calls. 

Clair demands every detail of what happened, her face is intent as Serena recounts the events from the moment she woke up to the battle. 

“We saw this- Dang it!” Serena smacks herself on the forehead with her palm and groans. “I forgot to ask Layla about the battle!”

“What about the battle?” Clair demands with a huff. Serena explains the weird flashes of light and screaming to the blue haired girl, the memory brings a shiver down her scars. “Huh, you think she killed someone?”

“Uh, no? Everyone was accounted for and Layla isn’t that kind of person,” Serena snorts. 

“Oh yeah? What kind of person is she?” she retorts with her arms crossed. 

Staring at her friend’s pout and crossed arms and laughs. “Are you  _ jealous _ ?”

“N-no!” Clair averts her eyes. “Get back to the story!”

Another laugh escapes Serena’s lips as she finishes the story to right where she is now. Clair is ecstatic to hear the tale and gushes about her stepping up and battling like a true trainer. The warmth in Serena’s chest doubles at her best friend’s praises. The two switch to more bland topics before Serena calls her mother and tells the story all over again. Her mother is more receptive of the phenomenon during the battle but doesn’t offer answers. Instead she glides over it and promises to tell her father later what happened. 

Hanging up Serena suddenly feels exhausted. Her head pounding with all the excitement, but her legs tired and heavy from running around and being up so early. Every flex of her achy fingers is a reminder of the ropes around those pokemon as she desperately loosened them. 

She sees it’s barely 10 in the morning and decides to check into a room for a quick nap. One break from the excitement won’t set herself back too badly and Saffron isn’t too far away anyway. She lets Nurse Joy know that she will be staying until later in the afternoon and heads up to her room. With her pokemon safe, the door locked and the curtains shut, Serena slides under the covers after a quick change and slips into a deep sleep. 


	17. Anywhere I Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the Kudos!! I appreciate them! 
> 
> In this story I'm combining the games and anime lore into one! There are a lot of elements from the two that I really liked and wanted here. As for where things are located, I use Bulbapedia to get a basis of it all.

Something is wrong. Serena could tell when she woke up before dawn and packed up her things before leaving the center this morning. However, the beautiful, large fluffy clouds dotting the sky say otherwise.  A light breeze flows in and out of her hair and across her exposed scars. Her back tingled for most of the morning, an ominous sign her hunch is right despite the current weather saying otherwise.

 _We must walk faster,_ Espeon urges Serena from behind. 

For the past few days, Espeon has been out enjoying the walk and spending time with her temporary trainer. Serena enjoys their bouts of friendly banter and some intermittent training. The route to Saffron is a beautiful route of rolling fields and forests. Farms dot the landscape here and there, advertising for trainers to stop and rest if they need it in exchange for some work on their farm. There were plenty of trainers to battle, too. 

 _Why’s that?_ Serena replies while kicking a rock with her foot. _The day is so nice out_.

_Don’t you feel that humidity? It’s going to storm._

Serena pauses mid step and closes her eyes. The sun beats down on her, warming her skin up and shining behind her eyelids. When her eyes open, Espeon is tilting her head at her as if to ask, ‘See?’.

_I don’t feel it._

_Of course you don’t,_ Espeon turns around and trots off. _It’s going to rain soon._

_Okay, we can hurry._

Serena takes off at a jog to keep up with the quadruped. The next city on her list is Saffron as a pit stop to search for Espeon’s owner. The Saffron Gym is the sixth in the lineup, so taking the challenge now is out of the question. But seeing as it’s the central hub of business and entertainment in Kanto, it would be a smart place to start searching. 

That being said, the last Serena checked (which was a few days ago at the center) she should have seen a pokemon center by now instead of farms. Maybe she read it wrong? 

 _See_?

Serena doesn’t even want to acknowledge the word as dark gray clouds gather in the otherwise clear sky. Along the rolling hills of Route 5 there is little shelter from the impending storm and Serena curses herself for not checking the weather at the center before leaving. It didn’t cross her mind that she’s been traveling for an awful long time with little to no towns in between...

As the sunlight slowly dots out, the two keep pace pushing through a few trees to a straight path that diverts away from a large building. Serena halts and nearly collapses as Espeon crashes into her legs. She laughs with her pokemon, picking her up from the ground and gazing at the metal gates in front of them. Her eyes peer to the left of  the gate to a metal plaque reading ‘Pokemon Tech’ and other inscriptions on it. In a beat, Serena’s heart is pumping as she takes a step forward to hit the buzzer. 

The worst they can do is say no.

“All students should be inside already, who is this?” a male voice comes through the speaker, Serena eyes a guard house adjacent to the metal gate and wonders if the man is watching her from inside. 

“I’m just passing by, but it’s going to rain. Can I come in for some shelter? I can sit in the office or something,” she starts in an even tone, glancing down at Espeon with a grimace on her face. 

“Not allowed, I’m sorry, miss. You’ll have to keep going,” he replies in a curt tone. 

“My mom used to guest teach here, a long time ago,” she pleads again just as a drop of water hits her forehead. “I’m not dangerous.”

 _Like that’s not suspicious, nice Serena,_ she admonishes herself for adding that in.

“Who was your mother?” 

“Rowan Lockwood.”

It takes a moment, but suddenly the gates swing open and an older man is stepping out of the house. He looks to be in his fifties, his skin wrinkling around his eyes as he gauges her face. He gestures for her to hurry as rain begins to splatter the ground. Returning Espeon to her pokeball with a triumphant smirk, Serena jogs over to the man and greets him with a smile. His dark brown skin is smooth and his dark eyes are warm and welcoming. His smile is kind as he gestures for the two to walk towards the front entrance. Behind them, the gates swing shut with a metallic thud. 

“I remember her coming by here every so often, she was a kind lady,” he holds out his hand. “Name’s Don.”

“Serena,” she replies with a firm handshake. 

His eyes light up as he takes back his hand and turns towards the front of the large brick building. “She always talked about you, even showcased your baby pictures. I can’t believe I remember it, I don’t even know the chances of running into you but... Well, I couldn’t let you sit out there with Vermillion still a day’s walk away.”

“Wait, I was supposed to go to Saffron,” Serena pauses in the doorway. She frowns. “How did I miss an entire city?”

Don’s laughter bursts from his belly as he pats her on the back. “Happens all the time, actually. There’s a new path on the route and every trainer takes a wrong turn. We’ll mark your map up before you leave so you can see. I would recommend just going to Vermillion, it’s easier that way.”

“Thanks,” she mutters, still disappointed. Espeon is not going to be happy, but they might as well go to Vermillion anyway. 

Once inside, Serena feels a wave of warmth wash over her. The school is grand inside and out with high ceilings and long tube lights hanging at different heights as she walks along a wood brown and white linoleum floor. Right away, four pillars surround some couches and a round coffee table in front of the front office, it’s a modern and professional lobby to show off to visitors and potential students.

 Serena’s head is on a swivel as she follows the guard past the tables and chairs up to the door. There’s navy trim where the floors meet the walls and navy crown molding too. On the floor in front of the door is a gold insignia of an open book with a pokeball on it. Her mother always said that this school was proud of its turnout and recognized achievements across the region.

Two large glass windows and a glass door separate the lobby from said office where Serena spies two secretaries sitting at a large wood desk, and a few other workers talking behind them. Don leads Serena through the doors and into a chair to the left. The chatter and work going on when they enter continues, as if the office is visited frequently enough. Neither of the secretaries bother glancing up until Don greets with them. 

Serena relaxes in the chair, her body melting into the cushions after hours of walking. Her eyes settle on Don explaining who she is and feels warmth surge at their excited smiles. Her mother’s kindness is truly a gift. 

“Good news,” Don returns with an envelope a few moments later. “We can put you in your own room for the night with a few meals on us. Our staff can look at your pokemon as well.”

“That’s awesome,” Serena beams while accepting the envelope from him. “Thank you.”

“Anything for Rowan’s daughter,” he winks back. “I’ll take you to your room and then the nurse station.”

Serena hikes up her sweaters hood around her scars and on top of her bag before following him out of the office and down a long corridor of classrooms. Serena tries her best to not stare into each room in case she finds several pairs of eyes peering back at her. Their steps seem so loud as they march down the hallway, each echo making her try and retreat towards the entrance. Better to take on the rain than another school.

Don pauses in front of an ornate wooden door and glances back at Serena. “Through here is a stone walkway to the dorms. Yours is closest to the Community Advisor in case anything happens; for safety reasons they will be checking in with you tonight and again in the morning. Dorms are co-ed and lights out, meaning no leaving to the academic buildings at 10 o’clock.”

“Sounds good to me,” Serena accepts the rules with a shrug, she has no reason to be out so late anyway. 

With a grin, Don pushes open the door, the sound of rain pounding on the pavement grows as the doors swing open. The air is much cooler outside now, Serena shivers at the chill. The walkway is large and dry as they wander through, the courtyard is hard to see past the sheet of rain pouring from the sky. 

 _Good thing Espeon warned me about this,_ she grimaces at the thought of being caught in the rain in the middle of nowhere.

“Hard to believe the sun was just shining,” Don comments as they come up to another door. “But that’s spring around here for you.”

Serena nods in reply and follows him into the foyer where posters and bulletins litter the large cork boards on the two walls in the entryway and around the main area. The dorms are ‘U’ shaped with two floors to house students as shown on a map posted on a side wall. Don takes Serena to the first door just past a front desk where a student is busy taking notes from someone else’s notebook. 

He gestures for Serena to hand over her envelope and pulls out a navy blue card from inside. He presses it against a gray pad on the door above the handle and waits for a curt beep before entering the room.

“It’s a standard set up; two beds, two desks, two closets, a pantry and  a small living space,” he explains with a sweep of his arm after flipping on the lights. 

Serena grins at the layout, much like a pokemon center’s double suites for a group of two for a long term stay. The beds are in the far corner of the room with one shelf overhead, both beds are made with fluffy blankets with the school’s emblem on the front. The ‘pantry’ is just a small opening with folding doors to the right of the entrance, there’s also a shoe rack inside. On the left is the ‘living area’ just an open space with a simple stand for a TV and some small chairs. 

It’s plain, but more cozy to the young trainer than a tent on the ground. 

She crosses the room to the premade bed in the corner and plops her bag on it. She empties her bag of her pokeballs to get checked out.

Don waits for her outside of the room with his hands behind his back. He offers her another warm smile when she emerges. “Nurse station and then one more stop.”

Serena builds on her mental map as they go back the way they came towards the Nurse Station, apparently she is going to have to practice to prevent getting lost in the future. Class has been let out and the halls are swarming with students, the buzz of several different conversations piques the interest of Serena’s mind. Voices whisper in her head until she disperses them with a firm shake of her head. With too many people about, it’s much easier to just ‘slip’ into their heads and hear what they’re thinking. 

Most students look Serena’s way before turning to their friends and whispering behind their hands. Serena’s scars tingle, tempting her to just take a peek. What does she look like to the outside eye? Do they know she’s from Johto? She stretches her neck and takes a deep breath, deciding to watch as Don happily greets several students on their journey towards the main office. 

Walking past the main office, the walkway curves around to a more subtle and quiet part of the building. A sign hanging from the ceiling denotes the  upcoming area the nurse center for humans and pokemon. No doors separate the hallways the only change is from white and brown linoleum to white and pink. It’s a little sudden, but that makes it obvious where you are in the building. It’s reminiscent of a pokemon center. 

“Nurse Joy here will take great care of your pokemon,” Don pats the counter just as said nurse walks up. 

She’s perky and kind as she regards the two of them. “Hi there, how can I help you?”

“They just need a check up, please,” Serena sets her pokeballs into the tray on the counter while grinning at the nurse. Joy places the tray on a rolling rack and types at the computer mounted on the desk, she stares at the screen for a moment before turning and picking up a black device with silver buttons along the top. “Here you go! This will vibrate when your pokemon are ready to be picked up.”

“Oh cool, thanks,” Serena marvels at the device while passing her fingers over its smooth service.

“Of course, see you soon.”

As they walk away, Don taps the device with his finger, “Don’t head to the dorms with that. It doesn’t reach that far.” At her nod, he continues, “We’ve got one person to find and then I have to go back to work.”

“Sounds good.”

“She’s going to be your guide while you’re here. We don’t expect the rain to let up so this is a safety measure,” he continues to explain. 

“I understand,” she replies with an easy shrug. At least they let her stay in the first place.

Walking back the way they came, they take an alternate turn after the office, to the right, and head to a cafeteria. Past two large doors sits a spacious room with a plethora of aromas wafting through the air. All of them different and all of them appetizing to Serena as she tries to recount the last time she ate something. She glances around at the storefronts, each one a different theme, as students go up and give their order. Barely any of the students look her way as they push past the lines towards the back of the room. 

Oblivious to her uneasiness, Don weaves through the crowd with practiced ease and comes to a stop beside a long table of teachers. Some of the teachers are clustered together to discuss specific topics while others are spaced out reading or grading papers. The teacher he stops by is a middle aged woman with dark brown, hair cut above her shoulder in a neat straight back style. Her clothes are business casual; gray pants with a white long sleeved shirt with a pink and green floral pattern. It’s a cute outfit and softens the woman’s light brown complexion. Serena eyes the way her jaw ends in a rounded point, giving her face a full look. 

The woman glances up at the two of them, her light brown eyes warm and welcoming as she offers a kind smile.  “Well, hello Don,” she greets in a firm voice, catching Serena off guard by the intensity in a few simple words. “Who is this?”

“Hello, Ms. Flores. This is Serena Lockwood, the daughter of-”

“Rowan Lockwood?” Flores tilts her head at Serena, her eyes sizing up the young girl making her scars shiver with the tension. “My first name is Natalie, you may call me Ms. Flores or Nat.”

“Oh, n-nice to meet you,” Serena replies in a meek tone. Nat reminds her of her mother, sure of her place and charging into new situations head on. It’s intimidating. 

“I remember your mother,” Natalie trails off with a smile. She glances at Don and frowns. “You haven’t explained why you’re here.”

Don lets out a bark of laughter. “I was getting there, Nat. Serena is a guest for the afternoon and she needs someone to-”

“Babysit her,” she interrupts with a grin. “And I was at the top of the list? Interesting.” It’s Serena’s turn to frown at her. Her mouth falling open to ask when she’s interrupted by the teacher. “I’m just not one of the _overly_ friendly teachers, that’s all.”

“Now, that’s not true!” Don beams before winking at Serena. “You’re in good hands now. I’ll see you off tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, thank you for your help,” the trainer nods as the security guard makes his exit to continue his shift. 

“Take a seat, Serena,” Natalie bids with a quick gesture towards the open spot in front of her. 

Serena does so while watching her return to the book she was reading. The air between them is calm and not at all tense like it was moments ago. Serena’s gaze sweeps over the woman as if to make sure she’s the same person she just met. Outspoken, kind and not overly friendly. Did she know Rowan? Serena can’t imagine the two of them hanging out and being chummy with each other. Though it is possible as Rowan is loved by almost everyone she comes across, at least that’s how it feels to Serena. 

“Did you get caught in the rain?” Natalie questions without looking up from the book. 

Serena toys with the beeper in her hands while answering. “Yeah I did, I was walking with Espeon when it started to pour.”

“Where are you heading?”

“I was going to Saffron, but I think I’m too far out of the way now,” the trainer replies with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah, that happens often,” Natalie nods her head. “There’s a fork in the road and one way winds down to Saffron and the other takes you a long way to Vermillion.”

“Oh.”

It’s silent after that as Natalie continues reading through her book with no further questions. Serena glances around the cafeteria as students file in and out. It reminds her of her own school and she suddenly aches for the days with Clair and Lance beside her. What was she doing here? Hiding from the rain, and yet she feels so left out and so... scared. The comfort and isolation of her dorm room here was the only thing enticing her to stay more than a day. But out in the open with anyone able to look at her, brings an awful, churning feeling to her stomach. 

Suddenly, the food isn’t as appetizing as it seemed when she first walked in. 

She’s about to ask to go back to her dorm when her buzzer begins to vibrate. She jumps at the sudden intensity in her lap and tries to play it off as Natalie raises her brown eyes to hers. Waving the buzzer, Serena begins to excuse herself when the teacher holds up her hand. 

“One moment and I will join you. We have just enough time before my next class starts and I would like for you to sit in on it, if you don’t mind,” she offers though her firm tone makes Serena believe it’s something she’s going to do even if she doesn’t want to. Now she’s starting to see the relationship between her and her mother. 

“O-okay,” Serena nods and waits while Nat gathers her things and waves her arm for her to follow. 

“I know of your mother. I’ve only met her once,” Nat starts as they exit the cafeteria. “You two are alike in so many ways and also not so many ways.”

“Oh?” she feels her chest tighten with a bit of hurt at the statement. 

“You seem so scared and out of place, I can’t understand why,” the teacher responds in a gentle tone. She gazes at Serena. “I know what it was like for your mother, teaching outside of the Clan as well as marrying outside of it. What she did was brave, for her time and probably for a while. I’m not going to pretend to know what you’ve been through, but I want to help you gain confidence.”

“Confidence?” 

This was a surprising turn out for Serena. She knows she hasn’t been the most confident in her life. Tough? Hell yeah, compared to what the other students put her through, she can hold her own when faced with people who don’t like her. Confidence isn’t a trait that stands out to her. This journey is an example of that, she has no idea what she’s doing and her battling skills still require work. Her first step was knowing that she needed this journey to learn more about herself, now she needs to actually try to. 

“Yes, confidence.”

Nat leaves it at that as the two make their way back to the pokemon center. Serena picks up her pokemon and on the way to Nat’s class, the teacher stops at the cafeteria to pick up a to go lunch for her. While she doesn’t feel hungry, Serena can’t say no to kindness and forces herself to eat a few bites of the apple inside.

Nat’s classroom is a large lecture hall with a projector and screen at the front flanked by two white boards. Students fill every single seat, from the ground floor and up, all of them chatting with each other until Nat sets her things down and pulls out a single desk and chair from a back room. The echo of the desk and chair scraping against the floor draws everyone’s attention. Serena’s cheeks burn as she feels the weight of everyone’s attention on her, Nat must be doing it on purpose. She pulls her scarf a little tighter around her neck to prevent them from seeing her scars. 

It’s silent as Nat gestures for Serena to take her seat. She does so, quickly and quietly, putting her lunch under the chair and sitting down with her hands in her lap.

“Now I am Ms. Flores, welcome to my class,” she says in a low tone to Serena with the first real smile she’s seen on her since their meeting.  Ms. Flores turns to everyone in the class and grins at them. “Today we are learning more advanced battling techniques. I can’t teach you wit per say, but I can show you how people have thought outside of the box in the heat of a battle.”

There’s a murmur through the students as they take out their notebooks and flip to a fresh page. Serena finds herself wishing she had been able to grab her stuff from her room, she wrings her hands under the desk, cursing her double sided luck.

“Hey,” a voice whispers from behind.

The blue eyed girl turns to meet the hazel ones of a girl with wide rimmed red glasses, a flurry of freckles across her cheeks and nose. Her fiery hair is pulled back into a frizzy ponytail with bangs falling on her forehead and framing her face. Her thin lips are set in a tiny grin as she holds a pen and paper out for Serena to take. She accepts them with a light blush and a muttered ‘thanks’.

The girl nods before focusing on the screen up front. Serena does the same, marking the paper with today’s date and the topic of the class. She turns her eyes to the screen to see it warming up a video paused on a ferocious battle between a Nidoking and a Kingler. In her mind, Serena knows that the Kingler should be the winner, but given the opening statement by Nat; she can’t wait to see the real outcome. 

The video plays, showing Kingler coming in with its glowing claw: Crab hammer. Serena watches, surely Nidoking will go down against this attack. It looks powerful. Another murmur rolls through the room and then gasps of awe as Nidoking slams its tail onto the ground to launch itself up into the air above Kingler to use Body Slam. The height from its launch combined with its weight makes the attack way more powerful. 

In the video the crowds silent as the dust thrown up from the impact settles to reveal Nidoking the winner. Cheers both on and off screen are cut short when Nat stops the film to address everyone. 

“Why show you this?” her question echoes for a second before turning to Serena “Miss Lockwood?”

Serena’s face burns and her chest tightens. “Be-because we, uh, all assumed it was going to be, um, a-a one hit K-O.”

“Precisely,” Flores grins turning away, allowing Serena to breathe. “Sometimes the odds are clear, water versus ground, easy. But we shouldn’t let that stop us.”

Serena thinks back to her time in the clan and how it was rigged against her. She survived and maybe now she can use that to her advantage. 

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

“How was your first day?” Flores greets Serena after another class. 

Serena glances up from Nat’s desk and her notes to grin at the teacher. “Wonderful, I learned so much.”

“I’m glad!” she beams at her and Serena can’t help but blush under her gaze. “Let me take you back to the dorm.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me sit in on your classes.” 

“You’re welcome. Academics come easily to you. You did better than the majority of the class, I’m impressed.”

“Thanks. My mom always helped me study.”

Serena steps outside and the sound of rain fills her ears again. Not as heavy as before, but still coming down good, Serena is awfully glad the guard recognized her mother’s name. Nat pauses along the cement railing and gazes out at the puddles in the courtyard with a thoughtful look. 

“I’d like you to stay for one more day,” she speaks in a quieter tone. This is one that Serena could argue with if she wanted, but she decides to let the conversation play out. 

“Why?” 

“I want to see your battling skills and help you learn more about our regions,” she glances at Serena with a soft smile. 

“And my confidence?”

“Yes, and you need more confidence.”

“You say I need more confidence, but I did really well on my quiz,” Serena points out, she pauses and leans against the cement railing to take in the sound and smell of rain around her. 

“Exactly, you have the smarts, the grit and wit. You just need to back it up, speak up, be proud of what you can do,” Nat stops a few feet ahead of Serena, turning to her with bright eyes. “Too often I see young trainers clouding their potential with their doubts. I see you and I see a girl just trying to find her strength. I think you were meant to come here and I want to make good use of your time.”

“But why?”

At this, Nat pauses. Her arms drop to her sides, her mouth slides shut and her eyes turn thoughtful again as she faces the pouring rain. She steps up to the ledge and places her slender fingers along the edge, feeling the roughness of the cement as she forms her words. 

“Our regions are broken and lost, Johto and Kanto used to be connected. Now we’re divided, you know nothing of Kanto and I know nothing of Johto,” she speaks in a gentle tone. “We’re right next to each other and yet... I want to teach my students that they can make a difference as long as they think outside the box and are confident in what they know. Seeing you in my classroom apply the knowledge you gained from your journey and those videos, I see a bright future ahead for you.”

Serena’s heart warms at Nat’s encouragement, the only people to tell her has been family and friends and that’s what they’re supposed to say. She was just being a good student, as she always has, there’s no way she could do anything remarkable. But with the way Nat’s eyes seem to glow as she gazes at the rain and the way her chest heaved when she explained her reasoning, Serena can’t help but imagine herself in the way Nat sees her. 

She pictures an older girl, maybe 20 with short, straight cut hair wearing business clothes, akin to what her mother would wear to lectures, and holding an expensive looking leather bag. She imagines that this woman has an assistant and is constantly on the move. Everyone respects her and listens to what she has to say...

“You’re thinking hard over there,” Nat eyes the young trainer with a knowing smirk. “I can pull some strings and get you an extended stay. I doubt you’ll change overnight, but we’ll get it started.”

Serena nods her consent to stay another day and with that Nat walks Serena to her dorm and makes sure she’s safely inside before leaving the dorm area. 

Once the door shuts, Serena can’t stand the silence and moves for the video-phone to call her mother. It looks standard, if not a little old as she takes a seat at the tiny desk and picks up the receiver. The picture on the screen is a bit grainy, the photo is one her mother and father took when they first got the phone installed in the house. Serena’s lips form a ghost of a smile as she looks at the younger version of herself, eyes closed and smile wide as her parents press kisses to her cheeks. 

The picture disappears and the face of her mother replaces it. “Hi sweetie!” her mother’s voice interrupts the memory. 

Serena nearly tears up at the sight of her mother in her pajamas, her light hair tied back in a loose ponytail. She didn’t even check the time when she called, Serena just wanted to hear her mother’s voice. “Hi Mom.”

“Are you okay?” Rowan tilts her head into the screen, her light blue eyes taking in her haggard look. “You look... stressed.”

“Thanks,” Serena can’t help but snort as she presses the speaker button and hangs the receiver up. She begins untying her scarf to allow her scars to breathe. “It’s been a long day...”

Rowan listens while her daughter explains the events of the day. Rowan’s elated the school is allowing her to stay and the staff is giving her such wonderful treatment. She understands Serena’s fear and reassures her that she is safe. Serena explains Nat and her motivations, feeling relief as her mother smiles and nods. At least someone understands. 

“I adore this woman,” Rowan comments once Serena is finished talking. “I think you’re in a good place and should take your time about being there. Let her lessons soak through and take what you want out of them.”

“But I don’t really understand it,” Serena starts and pauses when her mother lifts up a hand. 

“Don’t get caught up in that, pay attention to the lessons and the meaning with shine through,” she explains before glancing at the clock on the screen. “You should shower and get to bed, honey.”

 _Always the mom_.

“Okay, okay. Good night, Mom. I love you.”

“I love you too. Sleep well.”

Once her picture disappears, Serena turns the device on silent and approaches her bag at the bed. She explored and found no shower in her room alone and figured she’d have to use a public shower. Gathering her things and some shoes, she heads out the door to find it. Key card in hand, she turns and crashes into someone her height and build. 

“Whoops! I’m sorry!” Serena steadies the two of them as their toiletries hit the floor. 

It’s the girl from Nat’s class, the one that borrowed her pen and paper. Serena realizes that she also kept the pen given to her and wonders if she was trying to get that back. She bends over to help pick up the girl’s things and place them in her plastic carrier.

“It’s okay,” the girl’s voice is soft. “I was going to ask if you wanted to walk with me to the baths.”

Serena straightens her things before standing and meeting the girl’s hazel eyes. “Oh, uh, sure. Thank you.”

“Of course,” the girl smiles and holds out her hand. “I’m Vittoria. You can call me Vivi.”

“Oh. Nice to meet you, um, Vivi,” the name rolls off her tongue awkwardly. She straightens up before offering her own hand and smiling. “I’m Serena.”

The two take off towards the baths, Vivi complimenting Serena on her knowledge and her quiz score she peeked at. She’s a sweet girl on the quiet side, different from Layla and vastly different than Clair. Serena finds herself relaxing a little bit more in her presence until the steam emanating from the bathroom surrounds her. She tenses up and pulls at her towel around her neck harder as she follows Vivi to the storage cubbies to the right of the entrance. 

Most of the other girls are finishing up, drying their bodies and getting dressed when she and Vivi walk in. None of the chatter dies down at their entrance, a welcoming sign for the young girl as she clutches her items closer. With Vivi in the lead, Serena takes the farthest cubicle setting her things inside and taking only what’s needed. She takes her time, waiting for the room to empty out while Vivi wastes no time in stripping down and heading towards the showers.

Serena unrolls her towel, wrapping it around her shoulders before quickly stripping herself down and letting her hair cover the top part of her neck as she follows Vivi. The other girl eyes her towel with curiosity but stays silent, rather she begins soaping up her long hair. Serena’s back faces the wall when she drops the towel and drapes it on the divider. 

Washing her body to avoid any curious gazes has become a quick process. She doesn’t waste any time dousing herself in hot water and lathering her body up before lathering her hair up. By the time she’s ready to sit in the bath, Vivi is still shaving her legs. 

“You’re fast at this,” she remarks with a glance up at Serena. She freezes as Vivi catches her with her back to her. Hazel eyes narrow at her before Serena realizes she’s not wearing her glasses. “I’m not glaring at you, I can’t see anything without my glasses on.”

“O-oh,” Serena exhales and slips into the water with a smile. “I learned to shower fast while traveling.”

“I suppose that helps,” Vivi comments with a hum. 

The rest of the shower goes on in silence until both girls are done. Serena keeps a fast pace until she’s back in the changing area and has thrown on her pajama shirt. With her wet hair against her back, she doesn’t have to worry as much about her scars being visible much less Vivi seeing them without her glasses on. Serena finishes getting dressed and folds all her clothes for washing the next day. 

“Are you going to class tomorrow?” Vivi wanders in with a towel wrapped around her body. 

“Yes, I’m not sure of the time though,” Serena responds while squeezing hair cream into her hands. “Ms. Flores wants me to stay a day more to learn more things, and I’m excited.”

“Nerd,” Vivi mutters, Serena gives her a furrowed brow look until she spots the grin on Vivi’s freckled face. “Just kidding. That’s great. Tomorrow is when we learn more about the history of Kanto and Johto, then some battle practice.”

“History and battles? Perfect.”

“I’m in room 215 A if you need anything before you leave,” Vivi says as the two stop in front of Serena’s door. “We can trade notes and stuff if you want? I, um, really can’t wait to be on my own journey.” 

“That would be great actually. When are you planning  on going on your own journey?” Serena leans against her door. Her eyes light up as the new topic comes up. 

“I’m not sure yet, I don’t feel as confident about leaving the more I learn about how difficult it is to train more than one pokemon,” Vivi tugs on her wet hair and glances at the ground. 

“What? It’s not that difficult, we can talk it over tomorrow, during lunch?” Serena offers after a quick yawn. 

Vivi lights up at the offer and nods eagerly. “Sounds great. Good night!”  
“Night,” Serena waves her off before ducking into her room. 

With a short exhale, she drops her things on the spare bed and plops on to her own to stare at the ceiling.  The aches and pains of having to run earlier suddenly settle into her body, she never should have skipped working out after leaving Kent. Serena turns on her side, reaching for her alarm clock to set it for an earlier time. She supposes she can find a way to go for a run in the morning. As she settles down she barely registers the pain her scars bring as she falls into a deep sleep. 


	18. A Rising Wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long pause!! I went on a writing spree for this story to see if everything was working out okay and it seems so. I'm really hoping to get finished with this story and start in on the others before the end of the year! I hope you guys enjoy!

Serena falls out of dreamless sleep as though pushed down a flight of stairs. Her body thuds on the floor of her dorm room and, for a moment, she cannot recall where she is and what she's supposed to be doing. Rubbing her right arm, the one she landed on, she twists around to see the alarm clock as it’s about to go off at five. With a groan, she smacks the alarm off and trudges over to her bag.

Still in bed, Serena notices Ty must have escaped his ball sometime in the night to cuddle with her. She grins as the fire type settles into the spot she was in, likely to soak in the warmth before it fades.

Slipping on her running clothes is easy, she feels a quiet rush of excitement to feel some fresh air in her face. After yesterday’s rain and classes, she's surprised to realize that she misses running. She never realized how much jogging cleared her head and quieted the thoughts that refuse to be quiet during the day. The blood underneath her scars soothed them, helping her sleep well too.

Out in the front lobby, she spies a group of other runners prepping to head out as well. Feeling self conscious, Serena keeps her head down to try and sneak past them when a hand reaches out to get her attention. Forcing herself not to jump away from the hand, she looks up to see one of the girls from class with Natalie smiling at her.

“Hey, looks like you’re goin’ to run?” she starts with a small voice. Serena nods in response causing the girl to giggle. “We usually run in the woods in groups, why don’t you join us? I’m Shannon by the way.”

“Oh, sure. I don’t run fast though... I’m Serena,” she half smiles and takes a spot next to Shannon in the group.

“That’s totally fine, we just like to run in a group to make sure everyone is safe,” she waves off Serena’s worry.

Her words soothe Serena's nerves. She begins to hop on the balls of her feet while the group waits for any stragglers. Finally, after a few moments, she's one of the first to follow the group as they file into the back courtyard. Where battles take place.

The morning air is crisp and cool. Clouds remain in the sky, threatening rain despite the sun peaking out behind the forest. The group takes off, their uniform blob dripping away as people set their paces. Serena dives into the rich green scenery of the forest, the smell of dew and mulch filling her nostrils.

The pounding of footsteps all around her drives her forward with the last few people in the group. Breathing hard, Serena sees the mile two marker and begins to slow down as the path cuts off to a round lake. A few others jog forward, but Shannon slows down and jogs in place watching Serena gaze at the lake with a soft smile.

“The lake loop is one mile and this path leads right back to the school if you’re done. It’s fenced in so no danger here,” she huffs in a rhythmic pattern.

“How long do you guys go for?” Serena puffs turning back to the girl.

“Three or four miles,” Shannon chuckles before waving. “See you around!”

Serena waves her off before taking a breath and jogging off around the lake. The path is well worn, run by all those crazies and their three or four miles crap. She may enjoy running but she isn’t about to go for the next seven miles and not take all day.

The sound of water bumping against the shore fills Serena’s ears as she jogs and absorbs the scenery once more. Her mind buzzes and she loses track of time as she makes her one trip around the lake and turns back towards the school. She walks back at a leisure pace to cool down. Once in her room, Serena takes time to stretch and drink water. She then grabs her things and heads to the baths.

A quick rinse and some nicer clothes later and she's ready for breakfast. She heads in the direction of the cafeteria amongst a cluster of other students. Along the way she runs into Vittoria and her group of friends. They invite her to sit with them and she happily accepts. The smell of breakfast meats, oatmeal, and eggs wafts through the open cafeteria doors as the group heads in.

Serena’s card swipes and she's allowed through into the buffet style lines. Vittoria and her friend, Dahlia, bump hips with Serena as she holds a tray and views her options.

“Saw you were out running this morning,” Dahlia grins, though her voice sounds derisive. “Don’t you get enough cardio in walking everywhere?”

“Running helps so your body doesn’t hurt when you spend most of the day walking,” Serena responds in a tight voice.

Vittoria notices the attitude coming from both sides. “Dahlia, be nice. Don’t mind her Serena, she’s just jealous you’re out on your journey and she’s stuck in school.”

“Vivi!” Dahlia snaps at her, rolling her eyes.

“Is the truth scary?” Serena lets her defensive attitude go and then flushes at the outburst when the girls give her a surprised glance. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, she deserves it,” Vivi nudges said girl with her elbow and a playful wink thrown Serena’s way.

Going down the line Serena pauses as she stares at a crepe bar.  Decadent sauces, berries, whipped cream and other candies free to pick call to her. She pauses a moment before looking down at herself. She hears whispers coming back to her head when someone clears their throat next to her.

She glances up to see Vittoria gleaming at her as she plops down three crepes on Serena’s plate. Before she can protest, the girl pours chocolate sauce and plops some berries on top. The firm look at the end makes Serena's mouth shut. She opts to smile back and finishes putting stuff on her plate.

The three girls join the group at the table by the wall of windows. Sunlight warms the cafeteria as it peeks out from the forest. The buzz of talk from the students is a warm welcome to Serena as she takes a bite into her fruity oatmeal.

She watches as they talk about homework and studying, much like how her, Lance and Clair would at school. Her heart aches at the memory, wishing to be with them in this moment so much more intensely than she expected. The comfort of her friends in a school setting still playing strong in her mind.

“So, you’re from Blackthorn, then?” Garrett says between mouthfuls of juicy bacon and eggs. “What’s it like living with dragons everywhere?”

Vittoria tosses a crumpled napkin at him, frowning at his comment. The other two snort at their friends oblivious nature. Serena rolls her eyes, a grin on her own face, and shrugs.

“It’s kinda hard to sleep with them taking up the bed, but they taught our classes pretty well.”

The group exchange glances for a second. At Serena's grin they bust out into laughter, and she finds herself laughing too. Garrett starts again with more serious questions and, in turn, Serena answers in the same manner. The conversation flows from there, them asking her about life in Johto and her about life in Kanto. All the while she’s dug into her crepes without a second thought.

With less than ten minutes left in lunch, Serena cleans up her mess and goes to get up when the air around the table grows cold. She glances up to see Shannon has stopped by the table with a sneer on her face as she regards the group.

Serena recognizes this look and frowns. Shannon is the last girl she expected to be a bully, despite knowing the girl for a total of five minutes. The usual burn she would feel in her chest when confronting her harassers comes back and she welcomes it.

“Sitting with these losers?” Shannon sneers, but flinches back when Serena gets to her feet.

“They’re not losers. You have no reason to come over here and be rude,” the dark haired girl snaps back. “You were nice to me this morning, you don’t get to be mean to them now.”

Taken aback, Shannon’s mouth opens and closes like a Magikarp out of water. The others stare at Serena, surprised by her outburst. Dahlia whistles before breaking it off with a laugh and standing up, she gathers her tray of food. 

“She’s got some fire, like a Charmander. Let’s get to first period guys.”

That dissolves the tension and Serena, her gaze having been unwavered from her statement, turns away. She follows the others to the dish window where they plop down their trays. Her heart pounds in her chest and she feels a nice rush of emotion at standing up for herself and others.

She smiles to herself, thinking of Clair, and towards the exit to see Natalie standing at the door. “Are you ready for your first class?”

At the start of her day, she would have said yes. But now, staring at her teacher’s light brown eyes burning into her soul, she’s more than a little nervous. Nonetheless, Serena’s mind still buzzes from her confrontation, so she nods anyway. Natalie gestures for her to follow, Vivi and the others wave off Serena as they head to their own classes.

“The first class on your list is History,” the teacher announces in a practiced tone. “History of both regions.”

“Interesting,” the young girl muses. “In my school we mainly had the history of Johto, for obvious reasons. But I did get to hear a lot about Kanto because of Mom.”

“I am not at all surprised. You are also going to find that this school will have a biased curriculum as well,” Nat speaks in a low tone. They round the corner to a large lecture room already filling up with students. “My classroom is 134b, just around the corner. I’ll still be there when you’re done. I’ll be teaching your next class.”

“Okay,” Serena clutches her notebook and pen a little tighter as she peers into the room.

“You’ll be fine,” the older woman chuckles before walking off. “Do not be late!”

Once Nat is out of sight, Serena takes a few minutes to pep talk quietly to herself. Students go by her without a second glance. Finally, moments before class starts, Serena slides into a seat as close to the back as she can. None of the students pay her any mind as she settles into a spot near the left by the wall. Opening up her page, Serena takes a deep breath to settle her nerves and scars, before tuning into the lecture.

When lecture is over, Serena is scribbles the last bit of her notes before joining the surge of students in the hallway. She manages to squeeze into Natalie’s room near the front by Vivi and Seth. While Natalie sets up her power point, the two involve her in their chat about their favorite types.

The rumble of whispers cut off as Natalie clears her throat. She dives into the multitude of types and ways to train them to bring out a better potential. Her slides give examples, pulling up old drawings of pokemon taken from historical texts. She speaks slowly to allow time for students to write, pausing to add an extra comment or two.

“Serena, tell us about dragon types,” Natalie states after a bit of silence. A click of the slideshow reveals an ancient drawing of a dragonite.

Serena stares up at the picture of the drawing on the wall of a cave somewhere. She’s seen it only once before in Blackthorn. The Dragonite is much bigger than is normal for its species and below it are humans aiming weapons at it. This was a time before those of the dragon clan came forth and showed dragon pokemon can be tamed.

A bit of pride wells up in her chest looking at it, but it’s squished as she realizes all eyes are on her. “Oh. Uh, well. Dra-dragon types are hands on.”

“Meaning?” Natalie raises her brow. There’s a soft smile on her face encouraging her to continue talking.

“Sometimes you need to show them that you’re just as tough. When I am training my Dratini, there will be times she will flick her tail at me or roll into me. She may not be as big as the others, but it still packs a punch. She sees me as an equal and will treat me like one of her own,” Serena babbles, she trails off at the end. Her face turns pink as she regards the rest of the class.

“What if she didn’t see you as an equal?” Natalie prods her further, leaning forward on the desk with her head tilted.

Serena glances around to see everyone the same, leaning forward eager to learn. She pauses before answering. The truth is a bit much. Then again she doesn’t want anyone misguided enough to get one without actually knowing. She takes a breath before answering. “Well, she would attack me.” There’s a gasp all around the room but she continues on without waiting longer. “Not to kill me, but to establish that she is in charge. It would start out with lunging, which you have to either counter with your own even if you’re not strong, or no flinching. If it continued it would get to baring teeth, showing attacks and anything more.”

“Is it possible to still train them when it gets to that point?” a student calls from the back.

“Sometimes yes and sometimes no. If it starts to get pretty violent, find a dragon tamer and have them help you,” she shrugs and then smiles. “The title Dragon Tamer is for anyone who has enough experience to tame any dragon type or dragon-like pokemon they own.”

“Fascinating,” Natalie beams then gestures for her to take a seat. “Thank you for sharing, Serena. I hope you all took notes!”

The collective groan causes Serena to giggle as she takes her seat and resumes writing notes. Vivi nudges her playfully and gives her a thumbs up. It makes Serena think of Clair, spreading warmth in her chest at the sight.

The pop quiz at the end comes as no surprise, Serena takes a moment to review everything before taking her quiz. It’s three questions on the topics discussed as well as a bonus question about dragon types. Serena, pleased with her answers, turns in the sheet and waits back at her desk.

Once dismissed, everyone rushes out griping about the pop quiz.  Serena waits in her seat for Natalie to finish. She wasn’t told where she would be going next and wonders if there is another class coming in. She gets her answer when Natalie gathers her things and gestures for her to follow.

“We’re going to take a short break. I’m going to grade these and get stuff started for the next lesson, it’s practical battling.”

Serena nods, drinking in the bustling halls of the school. It seems so much more lively than it did yesterday. Maybe a good night’s sleep and a run was just what she needed to see better...

“Here’s my office,” Natalie pauses after they round a corner. As she pulls out some keys Serena glances down the hallway full of other offices. There's hushed voices, the sounds of typing and the rustle of paper filtering into the hall.

Natalie's door creaks open, revealing a cramped office. One wall has two windows facing campus, books are strewn on every surface. Her large industrial desk is littered with papers, books, paper weights and other trinkets gifted to her by students. Natalie clears off a chair for Serena and takes a seat at the desk.

“Would you like something to drink?” the teacher questions as she spreads out her things in an orderly manner.

“Water is fine,” Serena answers while crossing the room to gaze out the window.

Dark and angry looking clouds loom over campus as if threatening to drop more rain any second. Serena recalls a forecast on the tv in the cafeteria from earlier. It shouldn’t rain until later tonight, but maybe it’s changed now. She watches as students jog around campus, others practice their battling skills as an official looks on.

The feel of school is stifling if she were to think about it. The education is freeing, but the environment is enough to make her scream. So many students stuck together can be hard.. Or maybe it’s just been her experience. She may not know what she wants to do, but at least she knows what she doesn’t want to do.

She takes a seat across from Natalie, accepting the mini water bottle handed to her from a mini fridge hidden behind the desk. She takes a large gulp before leaning back and relaxing on the chair. Her mind spins with all the information shown to her within the past few hours. It’s been a few months since her last lesson, but she likes the familiar hum in her mind.

“You did well again,” Natalie comments across from her. “Along with the other top scores of the class.”

“Thank you,” Serena mutters under her breath before taking another sip.

“I wonder how you’ll do during a battle?” she muses in return.

Serena grimaces. “Not as well.”

“I’m sure we can help with that,” Natalie winks in response.

“I’ve gotten better since I’ve left, but I don’t have a real passion for battling.”

“That’s okay. I am not sure what you’re going to be doing in the future, however, being a sly battler will get you far.”

Serena considers this. It’s true, her father has had so many official battles to get to where he is in the G-men. It’s a bit outdated, but another system has not yet been introduced or implemented. Another thing her father had been raging about for sometime, so much so Serena didn’t realize how big of a deal it was.

Now that she's on her own she has to understand the politics around something more masculine centered. Clair becoming a gym leader was a surprise. The clan will entertain her choice but ultimately she’s a girl and will not be accepted into the position if the Elder’s can help it. The thought makes Serena’s nerves boil. No matter how good she would be Clair won’t get the chance to prove herself and it will break her.

“I see that look in your eyes,” Nat grins. “Yes, it’s messed up. Our regions are alike in that way. You’ll need to toughen up if you want to be heard.”

“How do you know I want to be heard?” Serena frowns, she doesn’t know what she wants how can Natalie know?

“I saw you stand up for your friends earlier,” she comments, making Serena freeze. “I’m not going to pretend to know your past, or even know you now. The way you stood up to Miss Dyer was admirable, you were quick, strong-willed and yet you didn’t put her down. You could have insulted her, but instead you deterred further incident.”

“That’s a lot to draw from something so simple,” Serena mutters with a frown. She feels strange having her actions laid out in front of her. The point feels just out of her reach and she doesn’t understand.

“It is and if I’d known you longer, I’m sure I could use more examples,” Natalie shrugs and pulls out more papers. “Think about it for a bit. I’ve got some stuff to do. Feel free to explore the office and look at stuff.”

Still feeling confused, Serena opts to move around the room with mindless curiosity. Her mother also has a large collection of textbooks at home. Serena thinks of the days she used to sneak into her mother’s study and pretend to know what she was reading in the complicated texts. At that time she often mused at becoming a professor... and then school happened.

There’s not much else for her to look at, so Serena spends the rest of the hour detailing her notes and making them easier to read when she returns to the road. The thought of traveling again excites and worries her. Espeon still needs to go home, and there has been no news from her father on the whereabouts of her owner.

Then there’s her next gym challenge, in Vermillion just a day away. The gym there has gone through several leaders, at least that’s what her dad said. The last she heard, it was a ground type gym, but then the leader had to take an emergency leave. Now she heard there’s a guy there with a crazy strong Raichu. Electric types are hardy and she’s going to struggle with just two pokemon willing to battle. If Espeon could listen to her and trust her, Serena is sure she would be able to beat the next gym no problem.

Speaking of gyms, Lance is surely ahead of her by now. It’s been a while since their last call, but even then he was past Vermillion. That’s how she heard about the last leader leaving. He was the last trainer to battle the old leader before the new one was implemented.

“You’re over thinking,” Natalie calls from her desk.

Serena frowns in frustration. “Am I easy to read?”

“Actually, no,” Nat peers over the rim of her reading glasses. “You’re fidgeting with your scarf.”

Blushing, Serena drops her hands and clasps them behind her back. “Oh.”

“I’m almost done, then we can go get lunch.”

Food will be a good distraction from her thoughts.

Serena takes a seat and fiddles with her notes for a half hour more until Nat's finished grading. The two head to the cafeteria in silence.  Serena is sure, with the noise the students make in the hall, there would be no chance for any kind of conversation.

It gets worse when they enter the cafeteria. This morning it was quieter, assuming most students are not morning people it makes sense. Now, it’s a bit louder but in a bigger space it’s much more bearable. Serena scans the crowds for her friends. Then she remembers that lunches are staggered to accommodate the huge student body here. Not that sitting with Natalie would be a punishment, she would like a break from her over analytical comments.

The two sit on the far side of the lunch room, with the other teachers, at the end of a long table. Serena feels like a punished student, forced to sit with Nat to rectify an interruption in her class. Some of the other teachers pull the older woman’s attention away with conversations about work. Leaving Serena to eat and concentrate on her itching scars in peace. Being at this school has really put her on edge and she’s not sure if it’s being back in a school or if it’s the students. She can’t let it get to her though, she wants to learn a bit more before taking off. Plus, the rain has barely let up. It’s more on and off now.

It lasts through lunch. Then finally tapers off as Serena gets pulled into a mini lecture with Nat about the next hour or so of class. It’s practical battle practice. While it sounds fun on paper, Serena is getting tired of advice for battling. She has so much to work on, she just needs time to let the lessons settle in.

“Students get paired up based on my observations earlier this semester,” she says. “Don’t worry, I’ll toss you around to see where you learn best. We only have you for another day so I want to see you try different styles.

“It’s a one on one battle, it can be more but most students here don’t have their own pokemon and two is the max they can rent out. At the end of the practicals, students are required to write a one to two page essay. It's how they thought they did, how their opponent did and what to work on,” she beams at this part. Serena can tell she loves giving out writing assignments. “I also fill out an essay on those same topics if I got around to seeing enough of your skill. Three battles will be going on simultaneously, so students are encouraged to help each other.”

Serena exhales. It’s a fair system, and a good way to introduce trainers into battling rather than dumping them into the real world with no experience. Serena feels a slight sting of jealousy. Due to her status in the clan, she wasn’t allowed to battle much in school. But it was also dragon types all over. While her pokemon can hold themselves against physical attacks, it doesn’t allow for all scopes of types and people. Nearly everyone in the city was offensive aggressive, leaving her little room to try any type of attack or comeback.

Natalie continues on with her not mini lecture describing several different battling strategies. If this was anything new, Serena would have gotten out her notebook. Instead, she opts to review what she already knows. When they go over the strengths and weaknesses of each type, Serena can't believe the amount each has.

“It all sounds so clean cut when you talk about it, I know,” Natalie grins. “But just because there’s so many strengths and weaknesses doesn’t mean that one is better than the other. It just fits the right kind of person and their pokemon.”

Serena nods in understanding. Clair and Lance are offensive battlers. Clair relies on the natural abilities of her pokemon while Lance relies on strength. Serena is more defensive, allowing the opponent to slip up before swooping in with an attack. It’s not a popular tactic as it takes patience and quick pokemon, but it has gotten her this far. It’s also not as glamorous either, as she remembers watching Lance’s last battle. He lives to show off, and Clair is much the same.

“You’ve got to be confident even if you’re wrong. Battling is not just about power, but trust,” Natalie continues.

Serena sighs. She’s heard all this before. “I just feel unsure about the choices I’m making on the field. How do I come back from a mistake? It’s so easy for one mistake to cost the win.”

“Stop looking at the ‘win’ then,” the older woman replies, then laughs at the incredulous look on Serena’s face. “I’m serious!”

“That’ll definitely cost me,” she mutters, unimpressed with this piece of advice.

“You’ll see,” she comments before standing up with her empty tray in hand. “Let’s go to class.”

On the way to class Serena goes over everything she has learned about battling in a rush. Her mind is buzzing with what everyone is going to think of her. They think so highly of her because of where she’s from and the one dragon type she has, but what are they going to do when they see she can’t battle?

“Serena!” Vivi suddenly exclaims right outside a tall door.

The brunette glances up to see Vivi and her friends waiting in a tight circle. On the other side of the hall are some other students conversing amongst themselves. Serena’s nerves die down as she leaves Nat’s side and joins her small group. The comradery is easy to slip into at this point and she’s happy.

“Hey guys,” she greets. “Ready for some battles?”

“Definitely!” Seth hits his chest a few times. “Even with your dragon you don’t stand a chance.”

Her competitive side gets the best of her and she snorts. “Cocky, huh?”

“He’s always like that,” Vittoria interjects as Nat unlocks the door and ushers everyone inside a large stadium.

Several different battlefields are painted on the ground. Each one half the size of an official battle field. Clearly, this is for practice and not for anything grandiose like full six on six battle. Everyone piles in and splits up into their friend group again on the sidelines of the huge platform.

Natalie gathers everyone’s attention to go over the rules, mainly for Serena’s sake. She also writes on a whiteboard the names of those battling against each other. The crowd of eight students rumbles at the matchups. Some eyeing a good friend of theirs while others look bored. Serena is going to be battling Vivi while two other battles are going on.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’ll be gentle,” Vivi winks at Serena while trotting over to their assigned field.

Serena responds with a muttered thanks while taking her spot opposite of the red head. She glances left and right to see the other students taking similar positions across the fields.

Are the battles going to be that intense? She wrings her hands out while Nat gets out her tablet to take notes. The teacher perches on  a lifeguarding chair mounted on the wall to help her overlook the battles below her. Serena wonders how good she is at watching several battles at once.

“You may begin when you are ready. This isn’t a competition! It’s a learning experience. So please help each other out,” Natalie’s voice comes out of some speakers overhead.

At that, Vittoria calls out a Nidorino amongst all the other shouts for pokemon. Serena watches the poison type emerge from the light of its pokeball and give its scaley body a shake. Reaching for her own ball, Serena notices several students that are not battling watching her intently. She entertains the idea of letting out Wynn, she’s a good battler, but this is to learn not to show off.

“Ty, let’s do this!”

Her fire type shakes his fur and lets out a cute little growl that Serena can’t help but snicker at. Vittoria looks a little disappointed, making Serena frown and think that she’ll just have to show her how tough Ty is. The look is gone and Vivi is quick to start the battle on the offense. Taken off guard, Serena watches as Ty is hit twice with Horn Attack before rolling to dodge more hits.

The battle is fast with Vittoria keeping Serena on her toes, thus throwing her confidence into the garbage. But Serena notices the redhead leaving her pokemon open between hits. Unable to shake her gut feeling, she aims attacks around Nidorino before hitting directly. This turns the battle around, much to the chagrin of Vivi but happiness of those watching. Enough to knock Nidorino back a few feet.

“Vivi and Serena that’s enough,” Nat calls after saying the same to the other battles.

The students gather around the teacher as she goes over the points for each student. Some cheer while others groan at the grades they’re getting. Everyone is having their scores emailed to them so they can use them for their essays, but Serena’s are given to her on paper. Nat is grinning despite the ‘Loss’ mark at the top of the sheet.

“Don’t be discouraged. It’s just because of all those hits she got in the beginning,” Nat explains. She calls out more names for other battles. Before climbing up to her perch, she turns back to Serena. “I want you to watch two battles, one with Vivi against Garrett and the other one with Seth and Chris. They’re happening at the same time, so try your best.”

Despite being sick of the emphasis on battling, Serena can’t help but do what she as she's told. Her eyes draw to the way Vivi takes a head start as soon as she’s able. It’s a good way to surprise your opponent and get ahead on an important battle. She also watches how Garrett stands his ground. A good defense is great to counter such a surprise and hold your own against powerful enemies.

Serena takes note, then shifts her eyes to Seth and Chris. They’re both great at offense with Seth’s Pidgey putting up a good fight dancing on the edge of Chris’s Sandshrew’s attacks. She watches as their attacks are one after another, barely a break between. A risky move considering a pokemon could get tired easily through a full battle. One on one or two on two would be fine; any more is pushing it.

The battles go by and Serena finds herself prepping for the field when a bell rings throughout the gym. Nat announces the end of the practical and leads everyone to a classroom next to the gym. It’s well lit with large windows facing the field as well as two TVs at the front to show different views of the battles.

Serena takes her hard copy sheet and sits at a desk that doesn’t have a computer screen. The essay details everything specified earlier. Immaculate and enough to make her mother proud. She comments on her hesitancy and errors. She finishes behind the rest of the students, she gathers her papers and hands them to Nat.

“The day is over. Rest up, your friends agreed to do some extra training tomorrow. If you leave by two, you’ll be more than halfway to Vermillion,” Nat finishes with a smile. “Go rest up, be a kid.”

Serena starts at that last comment. No one has really said that to her before, her parents were more concerned with other things. Which is fair considering how welcoming Blackthorn was when they got there. It confuses her for a second, what does that mean? What could she do at four in the afternoon?

“O-okay,” she stumbles out the door with Vivi and company following.

Vivi pats Serena on the back. “We have a little tradition after practicals. Interested?”

“You haven’t told me much info?” she frowns.

“Nothing illegal,” Garrett jumps in, wrapping an around Serena’s shoulder. She flinches as his arm brushes across her scar through her scarf. He backs off without comment; offering a gentle smile. “Viv, Seth, me and some others celebrating some good work.”

“Sounds illegal,” Serena states. The group glances at her, already sure she’s going to say no when they spot her smile. “Yeah, I’ll go.”

 


	19. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we are now getting to the meat of the plot. Things will be picking up from here!! Also I just noticed the mix up with the last chapter, so sorry about that!

_ April 25th _

_ It was totally legal! I went back to my room and dressed down in sweats and a shirt. Vivi and I had some dinner and at 7 we headed to the loop I ran around yesterday. The usual gang was there, Garrett, Seth, Dahlia, and then a bunch of random students they knew.  _

_ There were black lights and glow sticks, rings and paint! They’re all such nerds. They had a rave with no drugs or alcohol. Just nice music, dancing and laughing with students in need of a break. It was so different being with them even compared to Clair and Lance. _

_ In a good way! They’re great and I miss them so so much it hurts. It’s just nice to be comfortable with people aside from them... and Layla. I hope they get far in life, I can’t  wait to see where they go.  _

_I’m exhausted this morning and I have two battles_ ** _and_** _a full day of walking!! I should have said no..._

 

_ I’m glad I didn’t.  _

 

Serena starts at the sound of multiple cheery knocks on the door. 

_ Oddly chipper for being out half the night,  _  she groans to herself as she slides off her bed.

“Coming!” she grabs her bag and pokeballs. 

She glances back at her room; she spent most of this morning cleaning it to the state it was when she got here. Her chest warms at the memory of walking in on the first day and feeling so alone to now having people at her door. So much has happened in just a few short days, she feels a small rush of sorrow before turning back to the door. 

She has barely twisted the handle when Garrett shoves it open with a container of food.  __  “Morning!” he sings. “Hungry?”

“Morning,” she grins. “Yes, please. Don’t you guys have classes?”

“No, that’s why Nat asked us to help you today,” Vivi gestures for the two to head out. “We’re going to the outdoor arena.”

Serena pops open the container to find berry muffins inside. An assortment of six with bits of berries peeking out from the breading. She picks up an Oran berry one just as a pokeball falls from her belt. It bounces on the floor avoiding Garrett’s reach and Serena’s as it rolls away and pops open. 

_ I want to battle, _ Espeon’s voice enters Serena’s mind as the psychic type materializes in front of them. 

Vivi and Garrett gasp in awe, their eyes wide and jaws dropped in unison. They glance at each other and begin squealing. Serena ignores their babbling in favor of responding. Why _ the sudden change of heart? _

“Are you two talking? Why didn’t you use her yesterday?” Garrett’s voice interrupts as he leans in close between the two as if to break an invisible line between them. 

Serena considers answering him. It’s common knowledge that those with psychic types are psychic themselves. But the most known abilities are those that have to do with the mind and are not that strong. She shrugs off the creeping dread coming from her scars and nods at them. 

“Yes, and it’s a long story,” she turns back to Espeon. 

_ I spoke with Ty about his thoughts on it. He spoke of a connection with his trainer, you.  _ The pokemon regards her with thoughtful eyes.  _ I wanna see if that’s possible.  _

Behind Serena, Vivi and Garrett munch on muffins while watching the two communicate. They lean back against the door across from Serena’s room as if watching a movie. 

_ You don’t have that with your trainer? _

Espeon cuts her off then. Serena feels as though her head hit a wall, she flinches and frowns at the pokemon.  _ Please don’t do that. _

_ I am not used to such  questions. _

_ Questions that make you think about your relationship with your trainer? _

_ Yes. I am beginning to see it differs from the one you have with the others. She _ speaks before turning away and gently closing their connection once more. 

Without another word, Serena turns to her friends. “Well, good news for you guys.” 

She raises a brow at their casual faces. Not at all sheepish for staring at her as she conversed with her pokemon, Serena always felt like it was rude when people did that. Like staring at someone who’s conversation you desperately wanted to listen in on. She watches them scramble to their feet wiping muffin crumbs from their shirts; she snorts as they make themselves presentable and begins heading in the direction of the main school building.

“You said, uh, good news?” Garrett jogs first to open the door for the two, in his opposite hand he holds the box of muffins high. 

“Yes,” Serena continues past him, offering a smile as thanks for holding the door. “Espeon wants to battle.” As they round the corner to cut across the library, Serena ignores their dropped jaws and continues on into the hallway. “Don’t get too excited, she hasn’t battled, to my knowledge, before. We’ve just started doing some light training along the way, but barely.”

“Uh, how did you train her?” Vivi tilts her head, glancing back at the psychic type as she trots behind the group. The girl turns away when knowing purple eyes meet hers. 

Serena glances back at Espeon, turning her body to open the door to the outside fields and taking a moment to enjoy a silent school. Considering it’s the weekend, and they’re not taking any extra classes, few students are running rampant through the halls. There’s always something so...  _ charged _ like an empty school. She feels the zing of energy rush through her as she breathes in deep. 

Once outside, Serena realizes she has to come up with a lie, and quick. The fewer people know who her uncle is, the better  _ and _ safer everyone is. 

“A trainer traded her to me, her old trainer wanted an Umbreon.”

“Must have been from Johto,” Garrett mutters. He flinches at Vivi’s swat on his shoulder. “Fuck! Ouch!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Serena pauses at the edge of the pavement leading them to the back fields. 

The two share a look, Garrett has the innocence on his face like he didn’t mean for it to come to this. Vittoria looks fed up with his antics as though he always causes trouble by mentioning things he shouldn’t. It’s no surprise there is still some bad blood between the two regions. They have been... feuding (for lack of a better term) for a long time now. Long before Serena or either of those two were born. 

“Professor Oak and Elm didn’t share their discovery of Espeon and Umbreon for the longest time. Rumor has it, it was the Johto leaders, also Elm, that didn’t want it published for Kanto to know. Someone in Johto leaked a journal about it and somehow kept it under wraps from Kanto until Oak announced it a few years ago after coming to an agreement with Elm,” Vivi pinches the bridge of her nose. “The professors are above the drama. They were just unsure of the two new evolutions and wanted more info before encouraging anything. People are just dramatic.”

“That’s for sure,” Serena rolls her eyes before looking at Garrett. “Exhibit A.”

He frowns. “Hey!”

The girls giggle and walk around him with a bit of a hop in their step. 

Espeon trails behind as if trying not to listen to their conversation. Serena frowns and turns to Vivi. “Eevee are rare though, right?”

“Super rare people who are rich enough to leave the region are the ones who own them,” Vittoria nods. “Even then, they are rarely used for battle, at least, not until they’re evolved. Poor things, are not allowed to battle or have to evolve to battle.”

_ People who are rich... _

Serena doesn’t get the chance to talk with Espeon as they come up to the outdoor field and see Nat waiting for them with a grin on her face. The sight makes her nervous, this feels like a final test, a way for her to prove that she learned a lot and can use her new skills.  Is she up for the test?

Beside her, Espeon rubs her midsection against her leg. Startled, she stares down at the pokemon in surprise. Purple eyes meet hers, begging her to give her a chance and to step forward even with fear in her heart. 

_ Okay... _

“I’m ready!”

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

 

_ April 25th Part two _

_ Well. My battle skills are better now. Wynn and I did fantastic... After Vivi threw her around for a good half of the battle. She’s super quick! Her method is to go straight into attack mode to catch her opponent by surprise. We caught on and managed to get in more points and win! _

_ Espeon...Well, she... She did good for a new pokemon not used to battling. Her attacks were a bit weak, but she’s quick on her feet. We will just have to practice her attacks more. After our battle with Garrett (we lost), she didn’t say much. I think she’s brooding from the loss. Poor girl. Did her old trainer know about her interest in battling? Were they inexperienced/new? _

_ In any case, I see a lot of potential in her. She’s very stubborn. To be completely honest (no one’s going to see this anyway), I want to keep her. We may not be close, but in a way she reminds me of me. Taken from home and now just trying to some things out to see where she fits in this new strange life. She doesn’t know what happened to get her to me, and I’m not sure what my uncle did to give me such strong psychic powers... If she’d ever want to stay; I’d let her. In a heartbeat! _

Serena pauses, considering what she wrote before frowning and frantically writing more. 

_ But does that make me as bad as my uncle? That I would keep a pokemon that wasn’t meant for me? I mean, if her trainer wanted her back I would see if we could do a trade or something... I don’t want her to leave but I can’t be like him and just keep her for myself. I can’t be selfish! _

Her hands shake, and her scars grow warm as she thinks about her uncle. What a monster he is. Taking this pokemon away from her trainer and giving it to her without another thought. On the other side, she also wonders if he got her through legal means, no matter how unlikely she can’t help but hope so. It would mean she would get to keep Espeon with no guilt... 

“Ugh, just focus. Relax,” she whispers, breathing in and out before continuing again with the same fervor. 

_ Oh! I almost forgot, I MADE IT TO VERMILION! I’m so happy I didn’t get lost again or caught in another rainstorm. The rest of the route went well without a hitch. Just a few battles here and there, which Ty won. Before I left, I said more goodbyes to Vivi and company. Been saying bye a lot these days :( the life of a trainer is so sad! I promised I’d do my best to keep them updated on my journey with postcards. I already bought some from here to send back. Which reminds me, I gotta send one to Layla and another to Clair! _

Serena feels her mind perk up, as if she saw something she recognized. Her brows furrow as she glances around wondering what could have made her feel this way, but the lobby area is empty. With a shrug, she finishes her journal entry, slips her book back into her bag to trade for the postcards to write on them.

_ “Serena Lockwood your pokemon are ready!” _

Serena finishes her sentence with a sigh and packs up. At the counter, she hands over her ID to a smiling Nurse Joy. Her face brightens at the sight of her pokeballs on the tray and with a quick thanks, she gets her room key and heads towards the buffet. Her stomach rumbles with each step towards the mouthwatering aroma of fresh food. Trainers gather at the many tables scattered in the cafeteria. The hum of conversation buzzes in her ears as she steps into a line.

The food looks delicious under the golden lighting. Center food surprised Serena the first time she tried it. She had heard it was good, but it doesn’t compare to other places. Without another glance around, Serena helps herself to a plate full of different foods gleaming at her. It’s been hours since her last meal and she can feel her stomach dying with each passing minute.

She settles her stuff next to her at a booth and turns to her plate when a voice calls out. 

“Rena?”

She starts at her name, only two people call her that. She whips her head around and sees Lance standing a few feet away, bending backwards to get a better view of her. Her jaw drops, and she lets out a small squeal before wiggling free and rushing over to him. He sets down his  _ two _ plates of food on a table next to him and catches her. 

_ Was he always so tall? _ She thinks to herself as he swings her around.  _ It’s barely been a month! _

The thought disappears as his scent overwhelms her and she finds herself unable to hold back from giving him a bone-crushing hug. He returns it with the same fervor, much to his surprise. He didn’t realize he missed her this much, either.

“What are you doing here? I thought you’d be long gone by now!” Serena pulls away and gestures for him to sit with her at the booth. 

He grabs his plates and slides in with a lighthearted grunt. “Your mother called me, she told me where you were and how you got lost,” Serena groans, letting her head fall on the table, “and asked if I could come back and make sure you made it here okay.”

Leave it to her mom to call Lance to make sure she’s okay. If it wasn’t him it would be Clair and she would turn every city and route upside down until she found Serena. She lifts her head, smiling at those thoughts, and lifts a mug of tea to her lips. 

The steam blurs the edges of Lance’s face as she eyes him over the rim of the mug. “You said ‘Come back’? Where were you?”

“On my way to Fuschia,” he replies between bites of food.

She nearly chokes on her drink. “What? How long did it take you to get back here?”

He chews slowly as if it’s the first time he’s considered the date in a while, finally, he shrugs and says, “Just a few days.”

“Jeez, Fuschia?” she digs into her food, thinking about how far ahead he is compared to her. “You’re so far.”

“Yes, but I’ve been wanting this longer than you,” he points out. 

She glances at his golden eyes, seeing how he’s half smiling with bits of food around his mouth. Always the slob for food, good to see that’s not changed in their time apart. Been about a month, but still, a lot can happen. Like him getting taller!

“True.”

They eat in silence after that, little bits of conversation here and there throughout the meal. Once they’re done, they dive into the details of their journeys after they split up. Lance’s seem way more exciting; battling trainers at every turn, getting caught in dangerous storms, stopping rampaging pokemon and meeting girls. Serena can’t help but roll her eyes at him. He’s always been a ladies' man, at least since their last year of school and being out here with no parents to stop him, she’s not surprised he’s been... having fun. 

When it’s her turn, he doesn’t seem all that surprised about her volunteer trip, or staying at a school and getting a few extra lessons in. He  _ was _  shocked about Kent, if a little nervous that he helped her so soon after he left. She smiles at the worry in his voice when asking questions about her time with him, but promises that everything was fine and he wanted a student. Next to Clair, he’s also a big worrier, there’s no doubt he’d be plotting the search for Serena if she ever got lost again. 

When she finishes with the details of Espeon’s first battle, he’s silent while contemplating the information. They gather up their dishes to take to a window that leads to the kitchen and separate everything by garbage and utensils. The two face each other in the doorway as he prepares his questions, his brows furrowed and making him look angry with the way they sit on his face. She giggles remembering how people always thought he was so mad all the time in school. 

“Do you want to keep her?” he finally speaks. “You seem attached to her.”

“I am and yes, I do,” she nods right away and crosses her arms. “She has good instincts and loves traveling. She’s trying to hide it from me but I can tell.”

“What about her trainer?”

She shifts on her feet then and glances towards the lobby. She can’t handle having anyone else think she’s just like her uncle. “I-I’m-I’m not sure.”

Noticing her shift in comfort, Lance lets it drop for now and clasps his hands. “Well, anyway, I’m for sure tired and you are too, I know. I’ll join you again for a while, okay?”

She beams at him, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. “Thank you.”

He waves it off with a flick of his wrist. “I’m your best friend, remember? Plus, your favorite monster movie marathon is on tonight. My room or yours?”

Eyes glittering, she does a little dance. “Yours!”

He laughs and waits while she dashes off to return her room key up front and switch rooms to his. With a hop in her step, she takes his offered arm and the two march up to his room as though they weren’t in a center in the middle of a city away from home. All that’s missing is Clair and their badgering each other while Serena listens and occasionally stops.

At his door, Serena pauses in the entrance. He frowns, about to ask what’s wrong when she grins. “You don’t have a girl over now, right?”

He starts at her question, then rolls his eyes and snorts. “Psh. She left hours ago.”

They stare at each other; him smirking and her unsure how serious he is before they burst into laughter. She struts on in and plops right onto the big double bed, kicking off her shoes and letting out Ty to cuddle. Ty cheers at the sight of Lance, running over to him and rubbing against his leg before settling on the bed once more. The three of them settle into the darkness as the first movie starts and Serena can’t help but feel content with Lance at her side and the familiarity that comes with being around him. 


	20. Roll Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed the last chapter, so sorry about that mix up. I assure you this is the real chapter 20 and the last chapter is for sure chapter 19. Enjoy!

Serena wakes up, tucked in the second bed across from Lance’s. Beside her, Ty curled up in his makeshift nest of twisted sheets in a deep sleep. Turning onto her back, she recalls watching movies until way too late last night. Popcorn being tossed into each other’s mouths, laughing at all the cheesy scenes, breaking down the mechanics of some monsters on screen and arguing what would make the movies better plot-wise. 

All they were missing was Clair. 

She rubs the sleep out of her eyes and sits up slowly to avoid disturbing Ty. She glances around the dimly lit room. Water rushing tells her Lance is in the shower, the clock reads 10:34. How late were they up last night? She hasn’t slept in this late in weeks! 

The water stops with a squeak of the knobs and she hears him grab his towel with a sigh before opening the door. Red hair sopping wet and falling over his face and towel hanging low on his hips, he steps out and grins at her. She smiles back, not phased at all by his nudeness. 

“Morning,” she greets as Ty burrows further under the blankets. 

“Morning. You passed out last night,” he chuckles while moving over to his bag to grab some new clothes. “Had to tuck you in and then Ty in, he was just as passed out as you were.”

“I don’t even remember,” she brushes back her hair, letting some air hit her scars on her neck. “No wonder I’m up so late.”

He laughs. “Yeah, same.”

He disappears into the bathroom once more, leaving Serena to get out of bed and get on a change of clothes for the day. She stands in front of a mirror on the wall by the bathroom door and inspects her choice of tank top. The weather should  be a lot hotter than she is used to, and while the tank top she’s wearing will help, she doesn’t want anyone seeing her back. It’s a sore spot, something she doubts she’ll ever get over soon, unless the scars disappear somehow.

She turns her body to look at the scars, her neck twisting to see it run down the length of her spine. When she was younger it was worse looking, red, raised and scary. Now, it’s pink lines the width of her finger, snaking down either side of her spine. Along the lines, sitting two centimeters apart, are large circular scars as if jabbed by something. When she had gotten out of the hospital, her parents took meticulous records of her scars, measuring them and taking photos at different times of the day. She saw them a few times when they ached growing up, instead of pink they got redder and seemed to pulse with the blood pumping through them. 

She jumps when Lance pops out of the bathroom and pulls open the curtains with a swift tug, drenching the room in bright light. Ty grumbles on the bed and hops down to nip at his feet in annoyance. His cute little body lashing out with each of the trainers steps. Lance laughs, dancing around the pokemon to get away. She watches them with a smile knowing Ty wouldn’t purposely hurt him, he just enjoys making his feelings clear. When Ty is sure that Lance gets the gist, he scampers over to his trainer with a happy cry, pawing at her legs until she picks him up. 

“Want me to braid your hair?” Lance questions as he turns to his things to pack up.

Serena frowns, swiveling in the small stool to eye him curiously. “You know how to braid hair?”

“Uh, do you not remember when you and Clair had an obsession with braids when we were 13?” he gives her an incredulous look. 

She ponders that before bursting into laughter at the time they made him sit and watch hours of braiding videos as Clair would braid her hair and he would braid Clair’s hair. “Oh yeah! You still remember?”

“Of course,” he snorts and cracks his fingers as if he were about to play a piano. 

Serena ponders the thought of her hair braided when he spins her around with hands on her shoulders and gets to work. His fingers are gentle as he tells her a story about his Dratini and battling while out on the road to help pass the time. Her comments are laughs and a shocked “What!” here and there peppered around certain parts of the story.  She watches him work, his light brown eyes tracking her thick waves as he works it expertly into a firm French braid. By the time he’s finished she twists around to inspect his work, while her scars peek out at the top of her spine, it’s enough to let her leave it alone for the day. 

“Thanks,” she grins at him. “You could always make money doing this.”

“Mmm, I’d rather not broadcast the fact that I can braid,” he hums as she gets up to go to the bathroom. 

Ty grumbles at being moved again and settles next to Serena’s bag on the bed. 

Once she’s finished brushing her teeth and such, the two make their way down to breakfast. The smell of food hits them both, they take a deep breath and grin at each other. She moves to get some food when he steps in her way and blocks her path. 

“What are you doing?” she questions when she feels another strange tingle run down her spine. 

Without listening to his answer, she turns around and scans the crowd of trainers coming in to find the familiar face of her father and Clair among them. Her eyes brighten and a smile splits her face as she sprints over to them. Clair meets her halfway and the two collide like football players, smacking into each other audibly enough to make the men flinch. They manage to cling to one another while tumbling onto the ground. Above them, Lance and Aaron share exasperated glances. 

“Clair, I missed you so much!” she squeals as the other girl says much the same.

“Are you guys okay? You hit each other hard,” Lance comments as they sit up and hug again. 

“Love is pain,” Clair waves him off and Serena can’t help but laugh at that. 

Aaron pulls his daughter up and spins her around in a hug. “I heard about your little detour.”

She rolls her eyes. “I was safe, it was fun.”

“Only Rena would say school was fun,” Clair snorts as Lance helps her up. 

He nods in agreement. “Exactly what I said.”

She sticks her tongue at them. Her arm wraps around her dad as she leans on him and takes in his familiar smell of cologne, the forest and dragon scales. “Anyway, what are you two doing here?”

“After your mother sent out the cavalry,” her father gestures to Lance, who smiles wide at Serena’s groan. “I decided it’d be best to bring the gang back together for some breakfast.”

Serena eyes him carefully. She realizes her mother must have been worried for her. Looking back now, it makes sense. She never thought about how being away from home was worrying her mother since the incident a long time ago... Then hearing she got lost must have triggered her fear despite her calm demeanor over the phone. 

Sending Aaron would have hidden that from Serena, at least until he got here. 

She sighs. “She can come visit me whenever, Dad.”

“She knows, sweetie,” he grins, glad that his daughter could piece it together. “She’s just trying to let you have your space.”

“Right,” she sighs again before beaming. “Breakfast?”

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

The place Aaron brings them to is on the pier, a lovely restaurant called The Portside, or the Port by locals. It’s a customary sea themed restaurant, painted different blues and whites with a picture of Shellder, Krabby and some other pokemon found along the pier on the sign. Inside the restaurant are dark hardwood floors, round tables dotting the multilevel room with a circular bar in the middle and kitchen in back. Waitresses wear a more stylized version of sailor suits, while the waiters wear regular sailor outfits; scarves, a white button up with a blue stripe on the collar, a sailor hat and dark pants with dark boots. 

The hostess greets them and ushers them to outside seating past the tables filled with families. The tables outside look just like the ones inside but with the cloth fastened under the table to keep from blowing away. A large awning jutting out from the restaurant over their section of the pier blocks the sunlight. Soft music plays from the speaker over the sliding door they just came out of. 

The four take their seats, Lance and Clair comparing their battle scores while Serena stares at the deep blue sea in awe. Aaron orders a round of drinks for everyone, lemonades with berries mixed in and some coffee for him. The cries of some Pidgey and Spearow dot the background as Serena takes in the fluffy clouds blotting the sun in and out over the glittering sea. A sense of calm takes over as she watches the waves crash in the along the beach and hears the water rush under the wood below her feet.

“So, what’s new?” Clair pulls Serena back to the table with a quick smack of her fist on the top.

Serena dives into the tales of her travels, she glosses over her time spent with Kent, though her father raises a brow at her willingness to trust a stranger. In her mind she wonders if anyone will ever let her live that down. She talks about her time volunteering and her time at Pokemon Tech. It does not surprise the other two about her enjoyment or her perfect grades despite being there in the middle of their semester. She finishes with her troubles with Espeon, not the part about her guilt in wanting to keep Espeon and connecting that to her uncle, just that she’s unsure about what the next step is. 

“That’s another reason I’m here,” Aaron interjects just as their waitress returns with their drinks and takes their orders. 

Serena looks down at her menu, wondering what she should order. She forgot to look through it before conversing with everyone. Something big? Something small? She listens to Clair and Lance’s orders, a plate of seafood tacos and a burger platter, respectively and decides it shouldn’t- _ doesn’t _ \- matter. Aaron's eyes his daughter, his instincts saying he should encourage her to get what she wants, but his mind tells him she has to make choices for herself now.  She ends up ordering a panini with all the fixings with a side of fries instead of chips. He makes his own order, the special of the day, and takes a sip of coffee before continuing. 

“While you are here training and stuff, I will look around for clues to her owner’s whereabouts,” he pulls out his phone and shows her a map of Kanto. “We’ve checked all the smaller cities with Vermillion, Celadon and Fuschia left to scope out. I figured why not get some work done while you guys take the day to catch up?”

Serena bites her lip while examining the map with three red dots placed over the cities he mentioned. She knows it’s the right thing to do, and that Espeon would be much happier if she were in a familiar place with her trainer. Then there’s a part of her that has grown attached, that knows Espeon likes her food sweeter with only a slight tang, she likes her baths to be a bit on the colder side and her hair brushed every week on the dot. Does her trainer know these things? Do they do them for her too?

Lance sees Serena’s deep in thought and nudges her sandal with his shoe under the table. “I think it’s a great idea. Like old times, right?”

“Ye-yeah,” Serena pulls out of her reverie and grins at her dad. “Sounds good to me.”

Aaron nods, having missed her pause, and puts his phone in his pocket. Serena smiles at Lance, he winks in return. “Okay. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything.”

While they wait for their food, Clair begins her story of how classes are going back home in Blackthorn and how she feels she will fare against her competitors. Serena can’t believe how serious her best friend is taking this opportunity. Clair rarely put all her effort into something, even her tests. Naturally, she’s a fast learner and quick on her feet.  Serena recalls seeing Clair study for tests the week of them and usually she just went over the assignments and barely ever the textbooks. But now she’s studying every night, training herself and her pokemon nearly every day. 

And, honestly, it looks like it. Serena notices Clair has grown taller, her shoulders broader and her legs larger. Athletic. Easy to tell that she runs a lot or works with dangerous pokemon based on some marks littered on her arms. 

While Clair talks Serena glances over at Lance to see the same change. His face has filled in, it’s no longer scrawny or much too big for his body. His shoulders have broadened a bit too. Nothing drastic, but it’s easy to see they’re both growing. She contemplates if she is exhibiting these same changes as well when she catches her father’s eye and he raises his brow while darting his eyes from Lance back to her. She frowns and tilts her head, oblivious to his insinuation. He just grins, shakes his head, and focuses back on Clair. 

By the time their food comes out, Lance is starting his story. To no one’s surprise, it’s dangerous stuff. Aaron can’t believe what he’s gotten into without Wesley knowing. Dangerous storms forcing him off his path and into the wilderness with a lost sense of direction, nearly starved. Taking on thieves in multiple towns and cities, Aaron gives him an earful for that. 

As they wind down from their meal, the conversation turns to pokemon and who has what now. 

“I still have the same three, with a quilava instead of a cyndaquil,” Serena shrugs and turns to Clair. 

“Well, the dratini from the ceremony is close to evolving and then I caught another one a few weeks ago while wandering around that lake outside the city,” Clair begins with a grin. “I also have a Seadra.”

“You two need to catch up,” Lance clears his throat in a dramatic fashion and rubs his hands together. “ _ I _ have a  _ dragonair _ , Gyarados and Horsea.”

“What?” Clair and Serena exclaim at the same time. 

“You can’t have a Horsea,” Clair speaks up before Lance can say anything more. He glares at her and she shakes her head. “We can’t have the same pokemon.”

“Don’t be dumb,” he rolls his eyes. “There’s not a lot of dragon types to choose from here, so I’m taking what I can get.”

Serena rolls her eyes at their behavior. 

_ They haven’t changed at all. _

“I want a Horsea too!” she shouts over their fight. They calm down from their rude comments to glance at her. “You don’t want to have the same pokemon as each other, then you can have the same pokemon as me.”

Clair huffs while Lance grins. 

_ Classic trio _ , Aaron thinks to himself,  _ Serena always swooping in to make sure the two of them get along _ .

With their families ranking so close, it’s no surprise that there is a tension between the two cousins. Aaron sees a bit at home with their families constantly having to show that they’re worthy of the status they hold. He feels a sneer come on at the clan’s ways, so stuck in the past, he can only hope it will be better when his daughter is older. 

“They can be caught here in the city,” Lance informs her. “We can go now!” 

Aaron pays for them and after many thanks from the kids, he hugs his daughter before the three turn and head towards the harbor. He watches them go, Serena in the middle while the other two flank her and argue over something again. As usual Serena puts her hands up to stop them and they continue on with a normal conversation. With a scoff, he turns on his heel heads off into the city, ready to clean up the mess his brother left behind. 

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Knees deep in water, Serena smiles at the sun shining down on her as Clair finishes putting on sunscreen on the beach behind them. They found a part of the harbor where they can stand in the water and fish. Not having a rod of her own, Lance sets up his and offers it to her a few feet away. He holds it out while explaining the mechanics of fishing, their hands brushing as he shows her where to place her own. 

Serena basks in the water pushing and pulling her legs. The coolness soothes the heat from the sun, and the sand between her toes is oddly satisfying. She grips the fishing rod tight, standing as still as she can with Lance doing the same beside her. Soon enough, Clair joins them and the three wait in silence.

 Lance is about to suggest moving to a different spot when Serena’s sudden shout makes them both jump. 

“Pull it in!” he asserts, reaching over to help her as the line becomes taut. 

She does as told, pulling back with all her might. Whatever’s on the end isn’t too heavy and, sure enough, a Horsea comes flying out of the water. Beginner’s luck. Without thinking about a battle, Serena pulls out a pokeball and tosses it while the pokemon is in mid-air. Clair and Lance glance at each other wondering if she really thought it would be that easy. The ball doesn’t even shake, it pops open and Horsea plops into the water. 

Serena regains her wits and tosses out Wynn’s ball. The dragon type dives into the water and pops up near the water type. “Extreme Speed!”

Wynn dodges Horsea’s water gun, disappearing in the blink of an eye and uses Extreme Speed to slam her body into it and knocks it into the legs of the nearby pier. Horsea lets out an angry cry (as angry as it can sound being a cute little pokemon) and dives underwater. For a moment, Serena wonders if it left them and slumps, but Lance shouts her name when the pokemon pops up behind Wynn and blasts her with Bubble. Wynn cries out, twisting around to attack Horsea when the pokemon disappears and pops up again. Serena watches, takes a deep breath and formulates her plan. 

“Wynn, go underwater and use twister!” she commands. 

The dragon type does as she says, dunking below the depths as far as she can go in shallow water. The three of them watch as a typhoon bursts from the ocean, lifting Horsea into the air above their heads. Serena grins and watches as Wynn climbs up the typhoon, just barely visible beneath the twisting water. Once Wynn bursts from the top she shouts for Extreme Speed again, Wynn snakes through the air and hits the little water type full force.

“Use Thunder Wave!” Serena bellows as the two drop from the sky. 

Her dratini twists in the air to be in line with Horsea and releases a flash of yellow light at the pokemon from the jewel on her forehead. Horsea cries out, engulfed in streaks of electricity jumping over its scales. Serena wastes no time, grabbing another ball and tossing it as the pokemon falls just above the water and crosses her fingers.

Clair and Lance grab one hand of hers each and hold tight as the pokeball, guided by Wynn, drifts over to them. The light in the center dies, and the pokeball grows still. Serena’s eyes light up and she cheers with the other two. Nearby, a group of spectators on the pier join in, hollering their encouragements at the trio. Lance and Clair clap for her as she waves at the spectators. 

Laughing and splashing, they head back to shore, Serena’s heart pounds with excitement as she stares at the pokeball in her hands. 

“Better get him checked out at the center,” Lance advises as they dry off their feet and slip back into their shoes. 

“Then you will have to get him caught up on training,” Clair comments while inspecting Wynn. The dragon type coos as Clair finds the best scratching spot, just under her head fins, and leans heavily on her. Serena laughs as her friend nearly falls back by her weight. 

“Yeah, yeah. I get it, guys,” Serena rolls her eyes at them. “You’re not the only trainers here.”

They both mumble ‘sorry’ as Wynn gets put away and they make their way back into the city. This trip has just as much energy as when they first made their way over with the prospect of getting a new pokemon vs catching it and taking it back with you. Once there, Horsea and Wynn get checked out, simple exams lasting only 20 minutes, then the three are back out exploring Vermillion. Lance said something about a tournament on some field in the city and so they make their way over there. 

“Are you going to nickname Horsea?” Clair questions as they meander down busy streets filled with people and cars.

“I’m thinking Sygnath, or Sygna,” Serena replies as they follow Lance around at a casual pace. “Are you going to take part in the tourney?”

“Mmm, no,” Clair shakes her head. “I wanna give my babies a break. I think Sygna is good. Are you?”

“I’m thinking about it just to see how well he does,” she replies and gives a firm nod. “Lance, what do you think of Sygna?”

“I like it!” he says after a moment of consideration. 

Clair pouts. “Do you need his approval too?”

“Stop it,” Serena glances at her. “You know I value you both.”

She relents with a small smile, turning her head forward, ending the argument there. Serena changes the subject as the trio come upon the field mentioned earlier. Lance and Serena sign up for two different brackets, much to the surprise of her friends. 

“What?” she glances at them with the pen still in her hand. 

“You don’t want to battle me?” Lance raises a brow. 

“Hell no,” Serena snorts, setting down the pen and picking up a sheet with battle times on it. 

They snort at her. Clair promises to sit on their sides when she can and Serena can’t help but feel excited at the thought of battling. Standing in a stadium in front of a crowd of people is nerve-wracking, but getting to battle different people and see their strategy gets her blood pumping. Wynn, Ty, and Sygna will love it while Espeon watches. 

 

_ April 26th _

 

_ So the tourney went pretty well. I didn’t win in my bracket. I got third and received a gift card for the trouble. Lance, of course, got first and won a Charmander! Lucky. Sygna did well and strengthened a lot over the course of the tournament. A few more days of training and he’ll be completely caught up! _

_ Seeing Clair was so nice after so long of talking over the phone. After the tourney, we all went to dinner to celebrate and then came back to the center to celebrate again in another suite. Clair and I spent some time talking while Lance was off doing whatever. She seems truly worried about her exams towards the end of the year. I’ve never seen her so anxious before, especially before a test. It took some time, and I did my best but she still seemed unsure when we changed topics. We generally talked about how I am feeling with battling and I told her about my conversation with Lance about Espeon. I admitted how I felt about being like my uncle because I want to keep her.  _

_ I’ve seen her mad before and it shocked me how scary she is. Long story short, I shouldn’t even think to put myself in the same boat as Giovanni. She said that my reasons for wanting to keep Espeon are good and I would be letting her be herself, different than what he did. I believe her. I just... I don’t know. I’ll see what happens when we get there.  _

_ Lance came back then so we all three got to talking about different things. Then she left with my father after his investigation. He may have gotten a lead but said he’d look into it before letting me have a go at it. I think he’s regretting letting me keep her and figure this out on my own. I’ll have to do some serious searching after my gym battle... ugh! I’m not sure I’m ready for that!! _

Serena huffs, distracted from anything else as she thinks of her battle. She stuffs her notebook away to  try and fall back asleep.

She ends up staring at the ceiling, thinking about how to go about the challenge in a few days. The gym leader is an older guy, Lt. Surge,  known for electric types. With the type match up, Serena wonders how that will go along against Wynn, Ty and Espeon. Sygna would not do well at all, so he’s out. 

She looks forward to training him more, anyway.

Glancing across the darkness, she can hear Lance’s sigh as he flips onto his side and smiles to herself. It feels so much like the sleepovers the three of them would do at home, just missing Clair. Her hand slides down to pat Ty on his side as he slumbers near her hip. She settles in and promises herself to try to be a trainer when the battle comes, no matter the situation.


	21. Shipwrecks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Gasp* Double posting?!? I got excited and edited this chapter in a timely manner, so why not? Trouble is beginning to brew!!

_ I don’t want to be in today’s battle,  _ Espeon sits at the doorway of the bathroom while Serena brushes her hair. 

“What?” she turns to the pokemon with a frown on her face. 

“What?” Lance calls from his bed.

“I’m responding to Espeon,” she says back and listens for a response. 

He glances over at the back of Espeon’s head with a frown and then back at his hands for a moment before shaking his head. “Oh, okay.”

_ I am not yours and it feels strange to behave as such. _

_ I never said you were, but I thought you were enjoying battles? _ Serena sets down the brush and faces her pokemon with a thoughtful look.  _ What changed? _

_ I do enjoy the time we spend together, however, if I will be reunited with my trainer soon I would like to be in good condition. _

Conflicted feelings make Serena silent as she takes in the psychic type. Espeon is warming up to her enough to feel like she’s betraying her trainer, but she’s also prepping to be with her trainer again. At last, she feels guilt wash over her and her selfish wishes to keep Espeon by her side. Is she evil for wanting her to like her?

She doesn’t answer herself and opts to focus on how this change will affect her strategy. She tries to remain optimistic as options run through her mind. 

_ Ok. You will not battle today,  _ Serena turns away from her and grabs her things to pack them up. 

_ You’re not angry? _ Espeon steps into the bathroom with a frown on her face. 

Serena shrugs back at her,  _ I am sad you don’t want to. But as you said, you are going back to your trainer, meaning you’re not mine and I can’t make you do something you don’t want to do. _

Espeon grows silent, her tail flicking like she’s annoyed. Serena doesn’t push further and leaves the bathroom to go to her bed. Lance doesn’t say much while she packs, he figures her sudden silence is a continued conversation with Espeon or nerves. He just watches her pack, noticing how much she’s grown. 

Still with a bit of chub (he finds it cute) with some muscles around her legs and arms. Her skin is a glowing light brown, dotted with some scars from training, or being Serena: clumsy. Her loose waves seem to have gotten longer, falling to the bottom of her shoulder blades. He watches the spot where her scars hide behind her thick hair and glances away again. 

“Do your scars hurt today?” he asks before he can stop himself. 

Serena stiffens at his question and then considers it. “Mmm. Not really.”

“What makes them hurt?” he moves to sit on the edge of his bed. 

“Well, it depends,” she turns around and mirrors his position. “If the weather will be bad, I’ve noticed they get sore. When I have a bad dream, they hurt a lot.”

He tilts his head. “What about when you... use your powers?”

The way he says it makes Serena pause, like it’s a big secret or something he’s not allowed to bring up. 

Like he’s scared. 

“I haven’t been using them much. The times I do, are like, to get something down that’s out of reach or to talk with Espeon and they don’t hurt for that,” she answers. “Why?”

“I was just curious,” he suddenly glances away and grabs his things. Before Serena can point out his deflection, he jumps to his feet and steps to the door. “Let’s go to your gym challenge!”

She drops it in favor of the sigh that comes out of her mouth. She has her plan set, take on the gym trainers for a warm up, get confident and go fight the leader. Simple enough and easy to follow. It should be a good battle despite the loss of Espeon as her third, but hopefully it won’t come down to Sygna. 

She grabs her bag and joins him with a smile.

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

“Breathe.”

The command makes Serena inhale and then exhale as she stands before the battlefield. 

Vermillion City Gym is under construction, one that has been put on halt for a while now it seems, and there are no gym trainers. Straight into a battle with the gym leader is not what she wanted. When she woke up her plan was straightforward: warm up with the trainers, get a feel for their different strategies and then feel confident she will win against Surge. With no trainers, how is she supposed to do all that!

“You’ll be fine without them,” Lance soothes her while clasping her hands between his. “I saw you battle at the tournament yesterday, you were great!”

Another shaky breath and a glance out at her opponent speaking with the ref and she groans. “I just want this to be over with.”

“Then make it happen,” he shakes her hands to make her look at him. She tilts her chin up. “Get out there and kick some ass.”

“All right, okay,” she laughs and pulls away with a snicker. She gives Surge a thumbs up and he jogs over to spot after a short nod at the ref. 

All the formalities are over with and the battle begins. Surge sends out a Voltorb straight away while Serena goes ahead with Wynn. She grins with the beginnings of a plan formulating in her head. Voltorb are quick pokemon, hard to hit with the way they’re rolling around the field, but Wynn is quicker. Despite being the runt, she has grown into her speed stat amazingly well. 

_ This should be good. _

“This’ll be easy,” the gym leader smirks. “Use Sonic Boom!”

Voltorb rolls in a zigzag across the field, gaining energy as it goes, starting to glow white. Wynn holds her place as Serena waits until the pokemon crosses the field and most of the white waves from its body fly out towards her. Once a few feet away, Serena gives the command of Extreme Speed and Wynn disappears from the onslaught and the well timed Tackle called from the other side. 

“Now use Twister!” she cries out. Going over Wynn’s move set, she doesn’t believe Wrap will do any good here. She’d just get paralyzed and Thunder Wave is useless. Working with two moves will be tough, and she’s not even sure she can do it. 

“Yeah, Serena! You got this!” Lance cheers from the sidelines. 

With a smile, Serena turns back to see Voltorb dodge each impending twister while crossing the field closer to Wynn. The blasts hit the ground, sending debris flying all over the field. She watches them create tiny holes in the ground and snaps her fingers at a sudden idea.

“Wynn, dodge that attack!” she shouts as Voltorb nearly rams her again. “Good, now use twisted on the ground, once and really hard.”

Wynn nods at her, rearing herself up and making the pressure change a bit with how much power she’s gathering. Surge calls out a thunderbolt to try to throw off Wynn, but she surrounds herself with a powerful wind stream to block the attack. Serena beams as her pokemon forces the funnel down into the ground, stirring up way more dirt and rock than earlier. Voltorb gets knocked back, narrowly missing a shower of dirt as it rights itself and rolls back towards its trainer. 

“You don’t scare us, show her voltorb and use screech!” Surge grins on the other side of the field. 

Serena plugs her ears as fast as she can as yellow waves emanate from voltorb and a piercing screech makes the gym vibrate. Wynn curls in on herself while rolling into the crater she created and disappearing beneath a bit of dirt. The ringing in her ears doesn’t stop Serena from calling to Wynn as Voltorb descends into the crater to get closer. 

“Perfect,” she grins. “Wynn, extreme speed!”

Surge seems to catch on and tries to urge his pokemon out of the hole. “Roll out of there as fast as you can!”

Too late.

Wynn rears up and slams into the round pokemon as it tries its best to escape the trap. Back and forth, side to side it flies with each hit harder than the rest. Finally, Serena calls for one last twister and watches as the opponent flies into the air from the impact of the funnel and allowed to fall on the other side of the field. 

“Dratini wins!” the ref calls when Voltorb doesn’t move from its spot. 

“Yeah, that’s my best friend!” Lance calls from the sidelines and she can’t help but blush and roll her eyes at him. 

“Not bad, Spunky,” Surge calls while returning Voltorb to his little home. “Let’s see how you do against my best, my Raichu!”

The tossed pokeball pops open, letting out a large blob that forms into the electric mouse looking pokemon. Serena tenses at the sight of him, her mind goes into panic mode as the pokemon stretches out and lets some sparks fly in a show of intimidation. 

_ Message received. _

“Hey, don’t give up Rena!” Lance’s voice cuts through her thought. She glances over to see him watching with his hands fisted over his knees and his back hunched forward. 

He’s really into this fight. 

“Okay, okay,” she takes a deep breath and addresses Wynn. “We can do this, fight with everything you have.”

The dragon type hums in response, her head fins vibrating to show her excitement. 

From there, the battle goes downhill. Despite Wynn’s best efforts, there is not much power behind her moves. She puts up a great fight, managing to dodge some powerful attacks from Raichu, but a few hits and she’s down. With only Ty able to put up the best fight, Serena calls him onto the field and the pressure builds.

With the stare down between the two, the ref calls out the okay to start. Serena hesitates, and that gives Surge the upper hand as he calls out thunderbolt. The attack is powerful as it rips through the field, sending dirt and rock flying, as it barrels down on Ty. Thankfully, Ty understands his trainer’s nature and dodges it. He rolls away and attacks with Flamethrower to knock the electric type off it’s game.

“Focus, Rena!” 

Lance’s shout puts Serena back in her shoes as she clenches her fist and cries out. “Drown the field in Smokescreen!” 

Ty does as told, expelling a dark mist from the flame openings on his neck and back. Surge calls for another thunderbolt, but Ty disappears into the smoke. It’s a game of hide-n-seek as the two pokemon land some powerful hits on the other. Serena keeps Surge on his toes as she always makes sure smokescreen is covering the field. 

Though they haven’t practiced this strategy, Ty gets the hang of finding where his target is through the dark smoke. 

“We’re getting close to the end, Spunky. Whatcha’ gonna do now?” Surge taunts as Raichu uses Mega Kick and hits Ty in the gut. 

Beaten and tired, Ty stays on his feet and disappears once more in the smoke but it’s futile as it dissipates and he’s unable to keep making more. With a deep breath, Serena calls for her pokemon to hide using Dig, much to the gym leader’s surprise. Lance bellows from the side of the field in favor of the move. Serena can’t help but smile as Raichu runs all over the field, hoping to dodge the potential attack. 

“Guide him around,” Serena shouts, hoping Ty can hear her. 

She crosses her fingers and then beams when little bits of earth jut upwards at Raichu’s feet, luring it to the crater made by Wynn earlier. Lance cheers as Raichu takes a tumble into the hole only to be booted out by Ty as he emerges from the ground. He slams his body and some debris into the electric type. Raichu soars over the field, landing in a heap in front of his trainer and, much to the shock of everyone, faints. 

“Raichu is down, Quilava and Serena are the winners!” the ref shouts raising the green flag in her favor. 

With a squeal, Serena opens her arms welcoming Ty to celebrate the victory. Lance dashes over and gathers them both up in his arms, twirling the two around and squeezing them tight. He sets them down when Surge approaches. Breathless with joy, Serena accepts the Thunder Badge and thanks Surge for the great battle. 

“Thank  _ you _ , Serena,” he beams with a pearly white smile. “That was a good strategy, hopefully your spunk takes you far.”

Serena nods and exits trying to seem professional. Once she’s outside, she turns to Lance and squeals. “I did it!”

He laughs and listens as she recounts the battle as if he wasn’t watching from the side. Her arms gesture to every emotion she felt, arms swinging as she describes the way her pokemon moved. His eyes track her movements, the way her smile gleams in the sunlight as she beams at him, the way her blue eyes seem to glitter and hair bounces behind her with each step. Did her eyes always have slivers of gray? Or is it the light from the ocean waves? 

“La-ance!” Serena sings as they reach the center, her hand waves in front of his face.

He shakes his head. “What?”

“I asked where you wanted to get lunch, you okay?” she holds the door for him. 

“Yeah, just lost in thought,” he brushes off his observations of her and grins. “I was thinking some pizza, yeah?”

The smile on her face makes his own grow bigger. “Heck, yeah.”

_ April 30th _

 

_ I beat Surge!!! It was an amazing battle! Wynn and Ty kicked some ass, I can’t believe how much better we are getting after all that training and learning. It felt so good to be into the battle, I am starting to understand why Lance likes it so much. My pokemon and I felt in sync and ready to take on what came next, despite my hesitation they were able to reassure me that everything would be fine. I can actually do this, I can actually be a great trainer. _

 

“Is that the journal your mom gave you?” Lance questions. He takes a sip of soda as they wait for their slices at a local pizza place. 

Serena nods while finishing a sentence and sets it aside. “Yeah, it helps clear my mind when I’m worried or something.”

“You seemed to handle yourself well on the field,” he nods along with what she said. “Maybe that’s helping you too.”

She hums an agreement and reaches across the table to take his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “You too, thanks for cheering for me. It means a lot.”

“Duh, I’m your best friend,” he squeezes her hand back just as their food comes up. 

The two eat in comfortable silence as the afternoon light turns to early evening. The sky going from soft blue to orange to red as the sun retreats over the horizon. Once finished with their meal, they leave the shop and take a walk along the boardwalk of Vermillion Port.

Since her other pokemon are getting looked at, Serena lets Espeon walk with them. She supposes the fresh air will be good for the both of them. They walk to the end of a pier and lean on the railing, Espeon on Serena’s left, looking content. 

Serena marvels at the sky and its reflection in the sea; the light reflects yellow on the waves with hints of reddish pink along the horizon. It looks like a painting, she can hardly believe it’s real. Lance watches her marvel at the sight, he’s spent so many sunsets and sunrises looking at the ocean while traveling, and yet it doesn’t look as beautiful as it does with the way she’s looking at it. 

“I thought seeing the sunset in the mountains was the best,” she murmurs and glances at him. She’s surprised to meet his eyes, but smiles. 

“Mmm, I thought so too,” he switches to lean back against the pier. “But I think the best is a sunrise over a lake in the middle of the woods.”

She perks up. “Yes! Think we’ll see plenty of sunsets and sunrises when we travel?”

“Of course,” he snorts. “As your travel buddy, I am required to make sure you’re up at ungodly hours of the morning to witness such things.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, thank goodness you will be with me.”

“Exactly,” he ends with a playful shove. 

With a laugh, she returns it before they head down to the boardwalks and stroll farther down. Unlike the daytime, the beach is almost cleared of all people except a few couples holding hands on the beach. Lance notices and smiles at the thought of holding someone’s hand while doing the same. While he enjoys his nightly escapades with strangers, a part of him dreams for consistent intimacy in his future. Without thought his hands slide to Serena, but he catches himself on it and pushes the urge away. 

Espeon glances up at him from Serena’s side, though he misses her look, before returning her gaze towards the front. 

As they walk on in silence, other people head back as they come up to the shipping area of the port. Boats come in and out of this area carrying loads of goods for the Orange islands and other places. There are several light posts illuminating the empty shipping yard, a fence and a guardhouse comes into view prohibiting entry. The two turn around when the bellow of a horn sounds and makes them plug their ears. 

“It’s the SS Anne,” Lance comments as a large cruise ship prattles by towards the main port. “It goes around the world for a year before turning here for some time. All the richest people take the cruise.”

Serena raises a brow. A whole year? Yeah, you would have to be rich to go on a cruise for a year making little to no money. She would love to see the world though. Just as she travels Kanto, she would love to just visit other regions to see their pokemon, their people and their culture.  She marvels at the thought before glancing around them. 

“Hey,” she starts and spins in a circle. “Where’s Espeon?”

“What?” Lance tears his gaze away from the ship to Serena’s side. 

“She was just here,” Serena panics until she sees her pokemon running towards the port where the SS Anne is heading . “Espeon! Stop!” The pokemon doesn’t even flinch at her name being called. “Uugh!”

“She doesn’t listen, huh?” Lance chuckles as they jog after her. 

“Not really.”

They follow the psychic type as she leaps onto the pier leading towards the SS Anne’s dock. Around the entrance there’s a side where the pier meets a small island of shipping containers and such. It’s set apart from the main walkway to the boat where the ground is neater and everything puts on a show for those going on their luxurious cruises. On this side a big wooden building, dark with no inhabitants, and some garbage sits abandoned. 

Espeon comes to a stop at a break in the fence and waits for the two to catch up. Lance keeps an eye out for guards as they get to her and kneel beside her. 

“What are you doing?” Serena demands in a whisper. “We can’t be over here.”

_ It looks familiar, _ Espeon responds while watching the crew descend from the boat and disperse.

“Oh,  _ oh! _ ” Serena frowns then exclaims in surprise. 

“What?” Lance hushes her. 

“Espeon said the SS Anne looks familiar,” she turns back towards the yard. “Maybe one of them is her owner.”

“Your dad said that he couldn’t find anything on her here, no records of a missing Espeon or that someone even had one here,” Lance states with his own frown. “I’m sure someone would have said something, even if they worked on a ship that docks every once in a while.”

“But when he checked, the SS Anne was in the orange islands for repairs,” she reasons. “Maybe, it wasn’t registered yet with the office here in Vermillion.”

The situation is strange. So many factors are at play and neither of them can really comprehend what happened to Espeon or her trainer. Glancing between them and the shipping yard, Lance debates on what they will do. The area is off limits, given the signs declaring such going out there with Espeon may help someone recognize her. 

“Okay, lets just walk up and see if someone recognizes her. We’ll mention that she’s lost and that may help our case for trespassing,” he explains, getting to his feet. 

_ Sounds good, _ Espeon agrees as Serena stands up and dusts herself off. 

“She likes this plan.”

The three of them head towards the entrance. By now most of the workers have gone home with a few remaining. Tough looking sailors talking amongst each other while waiting for something unseen. Lance walks closer to Serena, as if to block her from an impending attack before clearing his voice at their approach. 

“Oi! No trespassers allowed ‘ere!” one of them shouts. The closest sailor turns to them with his arms crossed.

A long-haired sailor slinks forward and squints at Espeon as she takes the lead. His eyes flash in recognition and he turns to the group. “Oi, isn’t that-” 

“ _ Trespassers? _ Yes,” the first guy shoves the second one hard. He glances back at the two and sneers. “What did I just say?”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Lance brushes off his attitude. “This Espeon is lost, does she belong to one of you?”

All of them freeze and glance at the first sailor. Serena stares at them, studying the fear on their faces after they gaze at Espeon for too long. It’s like they want to stake a claim but cannot for some reason. She nudges Espeon with her leg and gestures towards the men. 

“Do they look familiar?” she whispers, fear starts to grip her voice. She unconsciously clings to Lance’s arm as he faces down the men in front of him. 

“No, she don’t look familiar,” the first one finally speaks after a quiet murmur rumbles through the group. “Now get outta here.”

“But you know something,” Lance states taking a step forward. 

Serena squeezes his arm. “Be careful.”

He pats her hand, “I’ve got this.”

“Listen to your girlfriend there,” the man spits. “This is no place for boys and scared damsels with rare pokemon. Especially that Espeon.”

“What does that mean?” Lance presses. “We just want to find her owner, okay?”

“It’s not safe out here,” the second guy steps forward, his dark eyebrows set in a frown. “We don’t know ‘er.”

Espeon leaps forward and growls.  _ He knows something. _

“Watch it!” he flinches back. “Get ahold of your pokemon.”

“You know something,” Serena states, gaining her confidence from Lance. “Please tell us.”

The other two men laugh, the second sailor snorts while the first holds his hand to shut them all up. He turns to the kids and crosses his arms once more. “How ‘bout a wager?”

“What kind of wager?” Lance grins. 

“Not you, pretty boy. Your girlfriend,” he points at Serena. “You battle me, if you win we answer all your questions. If you lose, you have ten seconds to run outta here.”

“Or what?” Lance demands, much to Serena’s chagrin. 

“Or the world will miss two brats and we’ll have some nice pokemon with us,” the guy wheezes out a laugh. 

“Lance, we should go,” Serena tugs on his arm. 

Her hands tremble at the thought of taking on this guy and losing. Even with her powers, or who their parents are, there’s no ending of this that is good. This was a mistake. These guys are bad news and all she wants to do is leave. 

_ No, I want answers _ , Espeon demands in her head. The pokemon has turned her head to stare Serena down.  _ Let’s battle. _

Serena sighs just as Lance speaks up, having not heard Espeon’s decision. “You did so great today, I bet you can take him.”

“Espeon already decided, two to one,” Serena responds and lets go of his arm to wring her hands out. “We will battle you then.”

“Ha!” the sailor bellows  and the others join in. “You see that? Little thing’s got some fire in ‘er. Let’s go, lass.”

He pulls out a pokeball, tosses it and waits as his Cloyster adjusts to its surroundings. Serena gulps and nods at Espeon so she takes her spot on the makeshift field. It’s just a cloyster, nothing too different from what she has handled before. She feels that she can’t fail, it’s important to Espeon and it  _ should _ feel important to her. 

“I’m not going easy on you, lass,” the man starts and then commands his pokemon, “Cloyster use Aurora Beam!”

“Quick Attack to dodge it!” Serena cries out as a colorful beam emits from Cloyter’s horn and tears down the field at amazing speed. Lance gazes at the battle, worried about the speed of the opponent. He watches Serena call out another command and hopes she can make it through this. “Then use Swift to knock Cloyster away!”

“Protect!”

Cloyster is fast, much faster than Espeon as it stops attacking to pull up a bubble around it as the stars from Espeon’s head jewel bounce off the shield. Serena clenches her fist, already put off by how it’s going. Once the shield drops, Cloyster lunges forward in the air and Clamps around Espeon at his trainer’s command. Serena gasps as Espeon’s front leg is caught on the shell and the pokemon cries out in pain. Lance flinches at the hit, his hands clenching at his sides.

“Espeon, use confusion to get out of there!” she nearly screeches in panic. 

The psychic type’s eyes glow, a glow that matches the one appearing around Cloyster as it grasps her, and she forces the pokemons mouth open before shoving it away from her. She limps over towards Serena and collapses at her feet. Down for the count. 

“Ha, can’t even get through a whole battle,” the sailor snickers. “Go on. Get outta here and don’t come back muddling around in something that’s too much for you!”

Serena, tears in her eyes, kneels over Espeon. “I’m so sorry. I’ll get you to the center right away.”

“Let me try,” Lance takes a step towards the man. 

“Lance, please,” she stares at him with Espeon in her arms. “Let’s just get out of here.”

He stares from her to the men just waiting for him to try something, but it’s futile. He gives in to her, helping put Espeon away before putting an arm around Serena’s shoulder and help her up.  The two scurry out of the yard to get away from the derisive laughs and comments. 

It’s silent on the way to the center, except for the sparse sniffles from Serena as she can’t get Espeon’s scream out of her head. Just when she’s feeling confident about battles, she can’t help but shake the feeling of putting her pokemon through something way out of her league. 

The center coming into view does little to relieve Serena’s stress as they walk up to the counter. Lance helps get Espeon checked in with Nurse Joy and settles Serena at a table in the cafeteria's corner with a mug of hot chocolate. She’s been silent the whole time, unable to stop some tears from flowing or stop shaking. 

With her hands around the mug, he reaches over and touches her wrist. 

“Hey, talk to me,” he mutters with his brows knit and voice gentle. 

“I can’t believe I let her do that,” Serena glances up at him. “The battle. That was  _ horrible _ , that Cloyster was way out of our league. She is barely used to battling anyway and now this?”

“You did your best,” he responds. “Besides, I shouldn’t have encouraged you to do it. I forgot how new to battling she is. We should have walked away.”

“We should have,” she agrees with a sniff. His hand pulls away as she lifts hers to wipe away her tears. “But she wanted answers.”

“Do you?” he tilts his head. He also gestures for her to drink more. 

She bites her lip and glances outside into the darkness. “I’m not entirely sure. Is that so bad? I just want to keep her. She is such a good friend.”

“It’s okay that you want to keep her,” he leans back keeping his eyes on her. “You’ve become so accustomed to her and you’ve grown to really understand her like a good trainer. It only makes sense.”

“But I should have tried harder to get answers for her,” she responds. He notices her hands gripping the mug so hard her knuckles turn white. “I can’t be selfish about it, I’ll be no better than my uncle if I try to keep the truth away from her.”

“Don’t say that,” he cuts in with a serious tone. “Serena, you are not like your uncle at all. You are a thousand times better than he is. You knew it wasn’t safe. We just got caught up at the moment.”

She takes another sip of hot chocolate, her eyes following the melted marshmallows as she swirls it over the surface of the table. In all honesty, the rush of excitement was enough to get her to foolishly agree to a battle she wouldn’t have won with Espeon. If it were daylight and more people around, she is sure those guys wouldn’t have been so cruel as they were tonight. 

They still got enough information just through the pre-battle interactions and she thinks back to what they said. 

“Hang on, that guy recognized Espeon, though,” she looks up at Lance. “Did you hear what he was about to say?”

Lance rubs his chin. “You’re right. He was about to mention someone’s name, but then they all froze up. So he  _ must _ know where she came from, but how?”

“Maybe he used to work with them?” she shrugs. “Then he got robbed by Giovanni and had to quit? Espeon knew he knew something. She said it before the battle started.”

“Hmm, it was suspicious...” he trails off in thought. His light eyes tracing patterns on the table while she watches. He suddenly snaps his fingers with a grin. “What if we asked him?”

“What do you mean?” she frowns. “I lost, we can’t go back. They’ll kick us out for sure.”

“Yeah, if we went back to the shipping yard,” he grins. “There’s a bar not far from the docks I know all the sailors go to and get super drunk.”

“How do you know that?” 

“I may have glossed over some details in my storytelling yesterday,” his grin widens. He laughs at her shock. “Come on, no parents, remember?”

“My god, Lance. Only you,” she rolls her eyes and then sits up again. “We’re not sneaking into a bar.”

“ _ You _ don’t have to,” he shrugs. “I can do it on my own.”

“No,” she shakes her head. “That’s too dangerous. Look, you’re my best friend, but I will not let you get into trouble because of me.”

“Our time in school says different,” he retorts with a grin. “You  _ know _ that I will absolutely get into big trouble for you and that you would do the same for me.”

Despite the warmth coming from his voice, Serena shakes her head in exasperation. “This is getting bigger than it should.”

“Rena, either you come or you don’t,” he lays his hands on the table. “If you do, I’ll tell you the plan. If you don’t, then just go to our room and wait there until I get back. I promise I will be fine.”

She bites her lip, considering her options. Espeon deserves to be with her trainer, whether her trainer wants her back and whether Serena wants to give her up. Her father trusted her to find out what happened to Espeon and return the pokemon to where she belonged. The least Serena could do was that. The rest can come later, whether Espeon actually goes with her trainer. The picture is bigger than her and she has to accept her piece in it all. 

That sailor knew who she was, she had to come from somewhere around here and it has to be something that her father missed. But if her father missed it, then it may be something underground a.k.a illegal. She and Lance are still teenagers, there’s no way the two of them could take on something like this with no training. Logic calls for her to call her father and let him know what happened, but they can’t say they trespassed and found out about something illegal. It’ll cancel out their supposed evidence. 

So, more logic calls for them to go forward with their own investigation and call it a mere coincidence they found some information on her trainer. 

“Fine.”

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Nurse Joy had reassured Serena that Espeon was doing well before they left. Some bruising, but it will clear up by morning and she will be asleep until then. Serena felt bad about leaving her, but there’s not much else she could do aside from sit next to the slumbering pokemon. She could at least try to get more answers before morning came.

Dressed in a dark sweatshirt, pants and some boots, she stalks beside Lance in a similar outfit minus his usual cape. The air is nice and cool as they make their way down some shady streets towards the bars. Lance walks the streets with purpose as if he’s been around here more than once and that concerns Serena. He needs to clarify some details missed the next time they’re back in the room. 

They come up to a brick building with a crumbling roof and battered front door, the Seaside Tavern. Lance pulls Serena into the alleyway behind a dumpster and checks their surroundings. He turns to her and pulls out a pokeball; he tosses it into the air and she watches as a long serpent pokemon emerges. 

It’s Ryu.

“He will watch you out here,” he states. 

“Okay.”

She breathes in and goes over the plan in her head again. Lance goes in alone, a girl in the bar is bound to bring attention. He’s been in there before and has gained a bit of a rep under whatever the name is on his fake ID. He’ll distract them by announcing a drinking contest between some other men (more regulars), this always gets a crowd going and they’re bound to be boisterous tonight. Then he’ll lure the target out to the alleyway where Ryu will intimidate him into talking. 

Mind numb with all the ways this can go wrong, Serena nods as Lance urges her to stay hidden and to leave if there is trouble. Ryu will protect her and then get him out of whatever is happening inside. They agree to rendezvous back at the center in an hour if something goes wrong.

_ He’s powerful _ , the words Lance used to describe Ryu ring in Serena’s mind as she watches him sway out of the alleyway.

She turns to inspect the dragon type staring after his trainer, ignoring her. As a dragonair, his body is much larger than it used to be. Stretching and piling beneath him like a bed of hoses. The round jewel on his head is now a horn, the head fins now reminiscent of wings, glow in the street's lamp at the end of the alley. She remembers when he was a dratini, so straightforward and hard-headed. He used to play with Wynn, but looking at his stern face now, she doubts he would give her the time of day. 

Serena leans back against the brickwall behind her and stares up at the night sky. For being near the city not as many stars are visible, but she traces imaginary shapes with what she can see to pass the time. The music from inside pounds against the door and she wonders if she could even hear Lance if he gave a distress call. The thought unsettles her, her eyes darting to Ryu wondering if he would just sense it. 

The pokemon shifts closer to her, sensing her distress and offering comfort with the touch of his cool, soft scales. She reaches out and runs her hand along his side, his muscles beneath his skin are hard and powerful. She wonders just how much training he has been through to already be evolved and as big as he is. 

After what seems like forever, the door bursts open and out comes the sailor from before. He stumbles down the steps and hits the ground on his hands and knees. Serena leaps from her spot on the ground and stands back against the wall. Lance trails after the sailor, letting the door slam shut behind him, before coming to a stop next to his pokemon. Two on one from Serena’s view huddled against the wall.

She watches Lance; he looks much older than he did when he went inside, shocked at his rough attitude. It must be the confidence oozing from him as he stands tall with Ryu next to him. His jawline is prominent in his show of anger and his muscles tensed for an attack should it come to that. Ever the hero, always standing up for what he thinks is right. In Blackthorn and now in Vermillion. 

“What the fuck, kid?” the sailor curses coming to his feet. He glances between the two. “You brats better hav-!”

His words die in his throat as Ryu leans down and makes himself better known in the lone light in the alley. The sailor’s mouth drops and he takes a shaky step back only to stumble upon an old can on the ground. He lands on his butt and backs up a foot or two towards the mouth of the alley. 

“Not so hot now, huh?” Lance states with his arms crossed. “We just want answers, no trouble.”

“O-o-okay!” the guy holds up his hands and glances at Serena. “It’s about the Espeon, right? That expensive ass, rare pokemon!?”

“Yes,” she steps forward. “Please, just tell me where she came from.”

“Nothing about me can get told to  _ anyone _ , you hear me?” he gains some dignity and leans forward, shaking a finger at the two of them. He puts it down when Ryu growls. “Promise me!”

“We promise,” Serena nods and waves her hand to get Lance to back off with his pokemon. 

Once Lance and Ryu lean away, the sailor seems to relax a little, and he sits up. “I would have said something  _ without _ that freaking dragon type here.”

“We had to be sure,” Lance narrows his eyes before making a ‘spit it out’ gesture with his hand.

“Okay. There’s a place in Celadon City, a gambling ring, the guys and I like to go to after a particularly nice trip,” he explains. “It’s below the flower shop called, Lila’s Garden, run by a harmless old geezer but don’t let him fool you. Guy used be in the mafia or somethin’. Anyway, besides gambling money, you can gamble pokemon.”

Serena gasps. “No.”

The guy looks sad as he continues. “Yeah, kid. I’m sorry, but she came from a real prick. No one saw the face of the guy who won that round of poker, he came in, made a big bet like he owned the place, won and left without a word.”

“How are they able to reconfigure the pokeball to not bring up her original trainer?” Lance interjects. 

“I don’t know nothin’ about that shit,” the guy sneers back. “I just go to get some money or pokemon. That all?”

“Do you know who her trainer used to be?” Serena speaks up after a moment. 

“Besides him being a prick and one of the best there? Nope, but most likely lives in Celadon or Saffron. They don’t get a bunch of traffic from here or other regions,” he answers and then smacks his hands as if cleaning them of dust. “Now that’s all the time I have for you, kids. Don’t come back and  _ don’t _ tell anyone  _ I _ told you anything!”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead,” Lance waves him off. 

He scurries up to the door and disappears into the bar once more. 

_ A prize. Her trainer gambled her and she didn’t even know. _

Serena’s world feels as though it’s spinning. She has no idea how to feel about the news. 

Her trainer was  _ willing _ to give her away as though she were a stack of money. First she feels pity for the pokemon, so desperate to get back to a trainer that gave her away in a game of poker. Second, is anger, she wants to punch, kick and scream at the trainer that would raise a pokemon just to give it away for something ‘bigger and better’. Third, the feeling she doesn’t want to admit, is excitement. Maybe with this knowledge, Espeon won’t want to go home and she’ll want to stay with Serena. 

_ Selfish. _

“Rena,” Lance’s voice cuts through her thoughts, hands on her shoulders. Ryu is gone, in his pokeball in a movement she missed. “Let’s go back, okay?”

She nods in silence and follows him back with a trudge in her steps. Her thoughts swirl around as they head up to their room. She leaves Espeon down in the clinic for the night, there’s no use in waking her up only to break her heart. As she gets ready for bed, she vaguely hears a soft knock on the door and Lance whispering to someone about coming over for the night. 

“Go ahead,” she mumbles as she brushes her hair in the bathroom. “I’ll be fine tonight.”

“You promise?” he sticks his pinky out. 

She smiles and wraps his pinky with hers. “Of course.”

“Okay.”

She listens as he explains to the girl that he’s not dating her, they are best friends. She can’t help but laugh at that. 

Could she ever date Lance? 

He’s always been there for her, he knows her secrets (the few she has) and accepts her. He never judges her most ridiculous insecurities and always does his best to get her to see the good side. He knows just how to cheer her up, what to say to make her feel better and what kind of day she’s having from just a glance...

“No, no, we couldn’t,” she mutters to herself, pushing the thought away and finishing with her hair. “He’s my best friend.”

The room seems so much bigger without him in it. None of his jokes, stories or just his presence to fill the empty space. She listens for his breathing only to remember he’s off having fun for the night. All that excitement from tonight, she can’t blame him. She only wonders why she doesn’t feel like doing the same, or if she did, why it couldn’t be with some random person.

 


	22. Not Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to my favorite chapter (it's the next one) and I can't wait! Action starts now.

    The next morning, the door creaking open jolts Serena out of her sleep. She sits upright in bed, ready to throw a pillow when she spots Lance stepping  in, looking dressed to leave and holding a plate of food. He snickers as though her stance is normal and sets the plate on the coffee table in front of the tv. He plops down on his bed and waits for her to relax. 

    “Morning,” he greets in an oddly chipper tone. 

    Serena settles her pillow in its place and mutters an apology to Ty before addressing Lance. “What’s got you so peppy this morning?”

    “You’re really going to ask me that question?” he raises a brow, offering her a suggestive look. 

    She considers it before remembering what (or whom) he went off to do the night before and blushes. “Oh, right. How was it?”

    “Standard,” he shrugs and lays back on his bed. “She wanted to go all night an-”

    “I don’t want details,” she shakes her head and raises her hand to stave off his story. “I was just wondering how it went is all.”

    “Oh come on,” he turns over to stare at her. “You don’t have any stories of your own?”

    “No,” she replies with a roll of her eyes. “I have other things on my mind.”

    “That’s true, but you’ve gotta at least feel the urge to have sex some of the time, right?” he frowns. 

    “I mean, I have a sex drive,” she pauses to think about it and sits back on the bed. “But I don’t have one night stands about it.”

    “You just...?” he trails off and lifts his hands. 

    Serena giggles. This talk is usually reserved for her and Clair only. Normally, she would be embarrassed to talk like this with a guy, but it’s Lance. “Yes.”

    “That’s hot,” he blurts and then flushes. “Not like that, I mean. We’re best friends.”

    “Yeah. I know,” she rolls her eyes. “Anyways, before this gets weirder, I’m going to change and eat what you brought me.”

    Lance grunts an affirmative before flopping on his back and closing his eyes. He listens to her rustle her bag while grabbing clothes and shut the bathroom door. A puff of air escapes his mouth as he runs over the last words he said and curses himself for not thinking first. He hadn’t meant it like he thought she was hot, just the act that she was doing and he _definitely_ didn’t picture Serena touching herself to the point of...

    “Okay,” he sits up and busies himself with his things. “Serena?”

    “Mmm?” she hums from the bathroom. 

    “Since we have plenty of time to get to Celadon, how about we train along the way?” he suggests. “Sygna could get caught up and Wynn can learn things from Ryu.”

    “Sounds great!” she pops out of the bathroom with a smile on her face. She ties up her scarf to hang loosely down her front while securing the back to cover her scars. Her thick hair is back in a ponytail. She adjusts her t-shirt, a little loose for comfort, and skinny jeans before heading to the table to eat. 

    “Should we tell our parents about Lila’s Garden?” Serena speaks between mouthfuls of eggs and toast. 

    Lance considers it with a bite of his lip. “I’m not sure. If we do then we’ll have to explain what happened last night and what we were doing.”

    “But if we don’t and then something even worse happens, we’ll have to explain last night and why we didn’t just call them,” she retorts while finishing off her food. She pushes the plate aside and reaches for the bowl of berries he put together too. “We’re not G-men, Lance.”

    “No. But if they show up and he’s not there, he’ll get word and disappear,” he takes a seat across from her. 

    “I’m not even sure I want this guy to have Espeon,” she admits. “He’ll just get rid of her again.”

    “Have you told her?” he leans back. 

    She pops a bit of oran in her mouth. “No. I haven’t seen her since we admitted her last night.”

    “I think you should discuss it with her before we move forward.”

    The finality in his voice is him urging her to do so, knowing full well she wants to avoid the conversation altogether. A cold ball of dread plops into Serena’s stomach, ending her appetite, as she thinks about having to tell Espeon that her owner didn’t care for her as much as she thought they did. It’s going to break her heart, if she’ll even believe Serena. The pokemon would sooner attack her than believe something so terrible. 

    “Okay, okay. Let’s go,” Serena sighs, sliding the bowl of berries for Lance to finish. 

    He picks it up and drops them all into his mouth before they both get up to pack their things. The two, and Ty, stride down the hallway in silence. Lance wondering what kind of training they will do later and if Serena is going to need help with Espeon, while Serena debates the different ways to inform her pokemon her trainer was a real jerk and to stay with her rather than still try to go home. A stab of guilt joins the ball of dread in Serena’s stomach, she’s relieved he bet Espeon, it’s more reasons for the pokemon to stay with her.

    “Hi, I’m Serena Lockwood,” she tells Nurse Joy at the front desk. “I’m here to pick up Espeon.”

    “Okay,” Joy types into a computer Serena’s details before scanning her ID to ensure she is who she says she is. “She did really well last night, the bruising is gone and she is good to start training once again.”

    “Great, thank you.”

    It takes a moment for the nurse to head to the back and bring out the psychic type’s ball. Serena accepts it and feels a sense of relief that it’s back in her hands, as if someone would have switched it for a fake. With the ball in hand, she joins Lance and the two exit the center heading towards Route 6. Lance doesn’t pressure her, knowing that she would argue if he did, and allows them to walk in silence as the city disappears behind them and they’re surrounded by an expanse of hills and forest.

    The sounds of wind through the trees, pokemon flying over head and the crunch of gravel beneath their feet calms her. When they’ve come to a good sized pond, she touches Lance’s shoulder in a silent message. _Wait here._ He does so without a second thought, kneeling down to play with Ty as she heads towards a lone, flat rock next to the water. 

    With a deep breath, Serena tosses the pokeball into the air and waits as Espeon forms in front of her. 

    _What happened?_ Espeon demands once she’s stretched out on the grass. She glances around, her eyes stopping on Lance and Ty on the dirt path. _Why are we not in the city?_

_Lance and I found one of the guys from the battle yesterday,_ Serena starts and bites her lip. _You’re not going to like what he said._

_Tell me!_

    Serena takes another deep breath and relays everything the man repeated from yesterday. She keeps her mind open so the pokemon knows she is not lying to her. Espeon’s face does not change, but her tail goes from stiff to flicking angrily in seconds. The pokemon doesn’t move after Serena has finished and seems to take time to absorb everything said. 

    She remains silent, warranting Serena to glance over at Lance to find him watching them with a tense look on his face. He raises a brow at her, in their own form of silent communication, _what did she say?_ She shakes her head back, _nothing_. And turns back to the psychic type just as she sits down on the grass. 

    _I don’t believe it._

    “How?” Serena blurts out in a sudden burst of anger. “Why would he lie?”

    _How do we know he’s telling the truth?_ The pokemon retorts with another angry flick. 

    Serena stops at the statement and curses. “Then we’ll have to go to Celadon and find out then.”

    _I suppose so,_ Espeon gets up and begins to strut towards Lance. She glances back at Serena. _I’m going to need more training, that battle was an embarrassment._

“You don’t get to order me around. I offered to train you, remember?” Serena crosses her arms, her temper flaring. 

    _And now I’m accepting it,_ Espeon stops, still looking back at her. _How am I supposed to find my trainer when I can barely fight?_

“You’ll get training after the others,” Serena pulls out Espeon’s ball. “I’ll call you out when it’s your turn.”

    Espeon doesn’t seem to understand, even looks hurt, as the red light from the ball zips out and pulls her back in. With a sigh, Serena places the ball on her belt and jogs over to Lance and Ty. The fire type rubs against her legs in welcome. She leans over to pat him on the head before turning to walk with them at her side. 

    “What happened?” Lance questions. 

    “She doesn’t believe us,” she announces and then nods at Lance’s confused look. “Despite all the proof I showed her, she doesn’t think we’re right. She said the guy could have lied to us and now we have to prove her wrong.”

    “So, are we going to tell our parents?” Lance brings it up. 

    “I think we should,” she responds. “Espeon just needs proof and we can get that if the G-men bust the place down.”

    “Or we could go in on our own, gather evidence and then bring it to our parents,” he offers instead. 

    She frowns. “Why do you want to do it that way?”

    “Imagine the excitement,” he raises his hands in a blowing up motion, fingers all splayed. “Two teens bust an illegal gambling ring in the middle of the big city.”

    “More ways for you to get girls to sleep with you?” she raises a brow at him. 

    He pauses. “Well, yeah. Guys, or girls, will be eating out of your hands too!”

    “I’m not sure that’s what I want,” she grimaces at the thought. 

    “Don’t knock it until you try it,” he nudges her with a laugh. “Come on, where’s the danger in your journey.”

    “Not here, that’s for sure.”

    “We can change that,” he steps in front of her. “Look. Someday, I’m going to be Champion of these regions and that means I’m going to be part of the G-men. What’s a better way to get a head start than to shut down illegal matters along the way? I’ll get plenty of votes in my favor of being Champion after the battle.”

    Serena stares into his golden brown eyes. Confidence oozes off him as he states he’ll be champion. So much so, she can practically see it now. Lance, older and much more handsome, standing in front of a crowd, cape and all with the title of Champion before his name. It’s his dream and she wants to support him in it. He’s going to charge in there on his own, she might as well be there when he gets in trouble too. 

    “Ok. Fine.”

    Lance fist pumps. “Besides, we’ve got Ryu. We will be totally fine.”

    She eyes him wondering just how powerful Ryu is. She wonders when Wynn will evolve and just how different she’ll be once she’s at the second stage. Ty didn’t change too much, he doesn’t cuddle as much, he likes to sleep on the bed but touch isn’t a big thing for him.

    “Wait,” Serena stops in her tracks with her finger held up. “How are we even going to go inside? We’re only sixteen.”

    “You’re sixteen, I’m seventeen,” he corrects with a grin. At her rolled eyes, he laughs. “I’m kidding, I’m sure we can find a way to sneak in. Or just barge in with our dragon types.”

    “Dragon types aren’t indestructible, you know that right?” she points out. 

    “I know, but there aren’t many ice types in this area to take them out and definitely not any dragon types to worry about,” he boasts and she rolls her eyes again. “Relax, Rena. We will be fine.”  
    “I know, I know.”

    They continue for most of the day talking about training. With Celadon being at least a three days walk, they decide to pause half way and set up camp.

Wynn and Ryu start with training first. While her pokemon is still much smaller, Serena has to keep herself from gaping at Ryu. His body winds up beneath him and he still towers over her and Wynn standing next to him. 

Differences in strength makes for a rough training session between Ryu and Wynn, but the pokemon is good at teaching. Using Wynn’s attacks against her and being able to pull back a bit to keep her going. She manages to strengthen the power of her twister move as well as learn Slam in the midst of a nice practice battle against the other dragon type. Once she’s feeling tired, Serena opts to give her some time to rest with some food and water off by another pond.

    Next up is Ty. He’s already used to training with powerful dragon types so he puts up a good fight against Ryu. Much to Lance’s surprise he’s able to stave off a powerful Thunderbolt called down from above. Hit after hit Ty begins to burnout, unable to spit more than some bits of fire until he gets going with Quick Attack and it suddenly turns into Flame Wheel. Eyes bulging at the transition, Serena does a victory dance as he zooms across the field. 

    Once he’s done, it’s Sygna’s turn. The two move over to the pond, big enough to fit Lance’s Horsea, Kai as well her own. The two start off slow with Sygna managing to get the upper hand with his speed. After a few hours of practice, he learns twister and Serena calls it for the new guy. She sets out some food for him and gives him time off. 

    “Now Espeon,” Lance announces with a bit of a bounce in his step as he returns to Ryu waiting in a nice patch of grass. 

    The dragon type rights himself immediately and glances at his trainer as if waiting for his next order. Serena wonders if they’re always serious like this or if Ryu is just showing how excited he is like that. She shakes off the thought and pulls out her last pokeball, she stares at it hard before tossing it in the air. 

    _I’m ready_ , Espeon announces taking a fighting stance with her legs spread on the ground and her body huddled as if she’s going to burst forward. 

    “She’s ready,” Serena shrugs at Lance. 

    “Let’s go slow,” he nods. “You can attack us and we’ll try to work on making her attacks stronger.”

    “Okay, quick attack,” Serena says without much emotion. 

    Lance frowns at her, wondering what’s wrong, but focusses as Espeon lunges forward in a flash. She zig zags across the small space before slamming her body into Ryu and falling back with a small cry. Ryu stands there, looking as though nothing happened at all. Serena calls for it a second time, telling her pokemon to focus less on the running and more on the hitting. Espeon huffs before backing up and trying again. This time the hit manages to make Ryu move his upper body back, but he shoves her and the psychic type rolls towards Serena. 

    “Confusion.”

    Espeon’s jewel glows faintly, the same glow outlining Ryu as the dragon type lifts off the ground and falls back towards the trees. Impressed, Lance manages a thumbs up at them before he’s ordering Twister in retaliation. Ryu rears up, and back before swinging his bottom half around with some energy and air with it. 

The twister tears across the small field and slams into Espeon. The psychic type tumbles back into a tree, the leaves tremble with the impact. Serena moves to call it when the quadruped takes a fighting stance once more. Her eyes are fierce and the trainer gives her a nod of encouragement before turning to Lance and calling out more attacks. 

    The session turns out to be good for Espeon in more ways than one. Her Confusion gets a bit stronger, not yet Psychic but Serena is hopeful. And her speed gets much better, able to move along the field dodging multiple attacks and dealing her own at the same time. Lance notes their ability to work together after just a few hours of practice. The two may fall out of line when one wants to attack but Serena knows it’s a trap. Once Espeon trusts her a bit more, more successful hits are made and it seems as though she’s starting to be aware of it. 

    “I don’t know why you’re so worried about battling,” Lance admits over some sandwiches.

    Serena chews thoughtfully. “I guess it’s because it’s so different than you and Clair. You guys are straightforward with your strengths, mine show over time.”

    “It’s because you get more comfortable as the battle goes on,” he replies and takes another large bite. “You have to be comfortable as soon as the battle starts, that’s when your opponent will really be at a disadvantage.”

    “But I could always lose and what’s the use of all that confidence?” she retorts, her face scrunched up at his mouthful of food. 

    “But you’re giving it your all from the get go. Who cares if you lose?” 

    “Have you lost?”

    “Oh yeah, plenty of times,” he snorts. “I’m not perfect, but I am always giving my all.”

    She hums in response, chewing in silence as the dragon types and water types splash in the water. Ty sleeps curled up in the sun, drinking in its warmth while he can. Espeon’s next to him resting her head on her paws, watching the two trainers converse. She was quiet after their training, except to thank Serena for her food afterward.

    Lance watches her watch the psychic type. It's been strange between the two of them since this morning's fight. He wonders if it has to do with Serena wanting to keep the pokemon and there being little stopping her but Espeon’s own stubbornness. He remembers she felt bad for wanting to keep her before, but knowing now that her old trainer didn’t want her and would more than likely pawn her off again doesn’t help. 

    “Hey,” he says in a gentle voice. When she looks up her blue eyes are murky and he can’t help but feel bad for her. “Let’s take a walk, you and me.”

    She agrees without a word, just a nod, and cleans up her food and drink. 

Once everything is secured and the pokemon understand to stay put, the two take a walk into a small clearing of grass and flowers. The afternoon air is warming, clouds drift by blotting out the sun to offer some breaks from its heat. It’s quaint as they walk up to the side of the pond and take a seat on some boulders.

    “What’s wrong?” he starts.

    “What do you mean?” she deflects standing behind him with her arms crossed. 

    He pats the spot next to him. “You’ve been acting off since your talk with Espeon, what’s bugging you?”

    She doesn’t respond. 

He patiently waits for her, knowing that she’s struggling to come to terms with her own emotions before she can share them with him. Eventually, she settles on the log next to him and lets out a stressed sigh. He smiles knowing he’s got her and turns to listen.

    “I hate that I’m still worried about wanting to keep her,” she confesses while staring at the sky. “It’s even worse after learning about what her trainer did to her. Like I’m _relieved_ he didn’t want to keep her and gave her away like that. But that’s _terrible_! I’m a terrible person for feeling that way.”

    “My mom used to say that it’s okay to feel emotions and that it’s your second reaction to your feelings that count,” Lance speaks after a short moment of silence. 

    “What?”  

    He keeps his eyes to the sky while answering her. “You felt relieved and instead of overlooking it, you _know_ it’s bad to feel that way. You’re not a bad person for having emotions, Serena. You’re not bad for wanting something either. What happened to Espeon is terrible, I want to punch the people that do this to pokemon like they’re things instead of living beings. You’re coming from a place of caring.”

    “I just wish my uncle stayed out of my life,” she mutters, drawing her feet in to lay her head on her knees. “I wouldn’t be so confused... or in pain.”

    At that last part, Lance can’t help but turn to her. “But then I wouldn’t have met you. No matter how much I hate your uncle for putting you through that, a little part of me is glad.” Serena sits up and frowns at him. He half smiles. “See? Now, I’m the jerk. I’d never want that to happen to you, but it’s the only way we would have met.”

    She drinks this in, turning it over in her mind. It’s true, there would have been no reason to move back to Blackthorn. Her mother and grandparents aren’t on the best of terms so she wouldn’t have gotten a cape from them, or even a dratini. The circumstances weren’t good, but the outcomes outweigh that side of it.

    She grins and leans on him. “I _am_ glad I know you.”

    “Me too,” he murmurs leaning his head on hers.

    They stay like that for several minutes, taking in the view and neither of them wanting to move away from the warmth emanating from the other. Eventually, the pokemon begin to tire out and gather at the edge of the clearing, alerting them to head over. They clean up the pokemon food and such before pitching a medium sized tent and getting a fire going. 

    The two work in unison with Serena taking the lead and guiding Lance on where to put what and a way to keep the fire going for part of the night. Serena feels her scars begin to ache as some thunder rumbles in the distance. The two hastily put together a tarp to keep the rain off the tent before cooking a quick dinner earlier than planned. Just some soup to squeeze in after those sandwiches as the storm rolls in. 

The two watch and eat in silence as lightning lights up the sky. 

Near the end of their meal, rain starts to drip on them. In a rush, they clear up their mess and retreat to the tent before the downpour starts. 

    “Hopefully this isn’t like the one that got me trapped at Tech for a few days,” Serena mutters taking her pajamas out of her bag. Lance watches the storm from the entrance.

    “Nah, I was checking the weather before we left,” he shakes his head. “Just a simple storm.”

    Serena hums while changing, Lance turns at the rustling noise out of curiosity and catches the sight of Serena pulling off her shirt. Her arms stretched over her head, giving him full view of her upper body and bra, her hair falls down her back as she tosses the shirt to the side. She reaches back to try and unlatch her bra. Her fingers drift over her scars, he notices in the dim light of the electric lantern that they’re redder than before.

    Without thinking twice, he leans over and runs a gentle finger down the side of her scars on her soft skin. She freezes, and turns her head to watch him study her back. To her surprise his face shows fascination rather than pity or disgust. It feels as though lightning is inside the tent with the pressure building between them. Lance forgets himself and Serena welcomes his soothing touch. He swallows the lump in his throat and presses his finger to the edge of the raised scar. It’s warmer than expected and she shivers at the touch of his cold finger. Her deep sigh as he drags his fingers down her back releases them from their spell.

    His face flushes and he turns away. “Sorry.”

    Trying to stop her own face from flushing, Serena takes a deep breath to right her whirling thoughts and wild heart beat. His touch on her sensitive skin was so... nice. The sigh that escaped her wasn’t conscious, she couldn’t have stopped it if she wanted to. Without another thought, she finishes changing and takes his place at the entrance so he can do the same. 

For once, she feels herself having to resist the urge to turn and look at him. 

 _It would only be fair,_ she says to herself but remains forward-facing. 

    Once he’s done, he takes a seat next to her, sitting cross legged as they watch the storm around them. The two sit in silence, even move into their sleeping bags in silence as the storm lights up their tent. Serena lays on her back, staring at the ceiling without latching on to a single thought. 

    “Good night,” Lance murmurs in the dark.

    “Good night,” Serena turns to him and smiles before flipping onto her other side. 

 

**_XxXxXxX_ **

    **_May 8th_ **

 

    _Training with Lance proved to be helpful. Before we traveled the rest of the way to Celadon I got into some battles with random trainers on the way and won easily. It was an amazing feeling to see my pokemon so powerful and quick. It must be what he and Clair feel when starting a battle._

_We got to Celadon about an hour ago, so 10pm and decided that was too late to go out and investigate. We’re going to look around tomorrow for Lily’s Garden and make a plan for how to get in during the game. I still think we should let Dad know, but I want to see for myself the trainer that did this to Espeon. It’s going to be worth it to see the surprise on his face when I bring her back. To be honest, I’m not sure if he’d do it again for if he’ll even take her back..._

    Serena tosses her pen down after that sentence, she’s through discussing it multiple times, and rubs her temples. Her emotions roll around in her stomach as she reads through her entry. She closes the entry with something else before tossing her writing stuff away in her bag. She flops back onto the bed with a groan and stares at the ceiling with whirling thoughts of Espeon. 

Ty crawls over to sniff her face trying to figure out what’s got her angry. When she shakes her head, he trots off to the end of the bed and curls up with a huff. 

    “I’m sorry, Ty,” she sighs sliding off the bed and crumples to the ground. In a dramatic turn, she crawls over to the mini fridge. “I’m frustrated... and I don’t know why.”

    She turns to Lance’s bed and remembers he’s off with another girl for the night. 

She remembers seeing the girl wander up to Lance while they were waiting on their pokemon to get checked over by Nurse Joy. She was pretty and even nice to Serena. The two whispered and giggled, and within minutes Lance was asking Serena to take his pokemon back to their room. She didn’t understand how they just knew they were going to be having sex together. She never heard them introduce each other, just general questions about what they’re doing here and how long they’ll be here and off they went. 

    Serena imagined herself in that same situation, finding a cute guy in the lobby of the pokemon center, which is not too hard. There are plenty of handsome trainers around, she saw some nice looking ones too. She focuses again, trying to think of what they would say to each other and shudders at the thought of just heading back to the room to have sex. 

The thought isn’t exciting, instead it makes her anxious. 

    “Whatever. I’m off to bed,” she sighs, slamming shut the fridge.

    Changing into pajamas, shutting off the lights and snuggling with a non-responsive Ty, Serena closes her eyes and eases herself into a deep slumber. 

 

    _It’s a bright day out. Serena feels happy as she walks with her mother back to their apartment. They spend dinner with their father, talking about school and what she’s going to do next. All the while Serena feels as though something is off, something is wrong and she can’t quite place it._

_Her mother speaks in soft tones while putting a young Serena to bed, talking about their plans for the next day and how much fun it would be. Serena watches with a smile that turns into a scream when her mother transforms into a hooded man and grabs her from the bed. She feels something pinch her and suddenly it all goes dark._

_Stabbing pains replace the pinch, all over her back, while she can’t move from her spot on the ground. The world is spinning and she’s not sure if it’s because she’s being taken somewhere else or it’s the pain._

_“Stop!”_

 

Serena sits up with a gasp and then a cry of pain. Ty paws at her arm as she tries to make herself smaller, her breathing erratic and her mind whirling as she tries to right the world around her. The scars along her back burn against the thin shirt she’s wearing over them. Her head hurts with the sudden force of the dream. 

    “It’s just a dream,” she tells herself over and over again.

    Ty whimpers next to her, pulling her from her moment and bringing her down to earth. She sighs and picks him up, holding his heavy body close to hers as her breathing slows and the burning sensation dies down. He smells like warmth and grass, a welcoming scent in her frazzled state. 

    Serena falls back onto the bed, Ty bundled up in her arms, to stare at the ceiling. She figured this would happen if she were going to be here, but it still came out of nowhere. She’s safe now, there’s no reason for her to be scared that anything is going to happen. Her father wouldn’t let it happen again.

    “Ugh,” she sighs, sitting up and setting Ty aside so she can get up to the phone. “I’m not sleeping anytime soon.”

    She dials the only number she would dare to at this time in the morning and grins when her best friend picks up on the third ring.

    “What’s wrong?” Clair yawns into the screen. Her hair is all over the place from sleep, her oversized Dragonair shirt is crumpled and her eyes are mostly closed. 

    “I had a bad dream,” Serena admits with a sigh. She leans back in her chair, bringing her feet to rest on the edge. 

    “Oh,” Clair nods in understanding. She sets down the receiver to wipe her eyes and wake up a bit more before picking it back up and continuing in a soothing tone. “Want to hear about my day?”

    Serena nods and relaxes as Clair goes on to detail her training leading to exams at the end of the year and how she’s ready to take on the position of Gym Leader and learn even more about the politics going on behind the scenes. The only worry she has is about the Johto League not taken as seriously as the Kanto League and that she’s working hard for barely any recognition between the two regions. The only honor she gets is from Blackthorn recognizing her as a Dragon Tamer. 

    This is the distraction Serena is looking for. 

    “What if they were equal and working together?” she asks Clair after a quick moment of silence. 

    “It would be a uniform league, we’d be taken seriously and lead the other regions to do the same. The whole Battle Championship atmosphere is so stuck up it would be great if it was more welcoming to everyone and not just boys,” she trails off with a frown of disgust. 

    “What do you mean?” Serena frowns. 

    “It’s a lot easier for boys to get through because they’re seen as tougher trainers. You should see how much they struggle in my class but somehow they’re on par with me!”

    “That’s stupid,” Serena laughs. “It would be great if things were equal between the two regions and you didn’t have to deal with stupid boys.”  
    “I’m honestly worried that I won’t get the position because of it,” Clair admits with a frown. 

    Serena stops laughing and stares at the screen. “No way. You’re such a good trainer.”

    “There’s not much I could do if I win and they decide to pick someone else,” the blue haired girl shrugs. 

    “That’s bullcrap, I won’t let them do that to you!” Serena smacks her fist on the table. 

    “What can you do?” Clair raises her brow. It’s not a mocking answer, she genuinely wants to hear a plan. 

    Serena sits back and considers it for a moment. “Well, my family was accepted back into the clan despite the rules with the help of my mom’s parents and their power within the clan... I think if I can find a way into the league with the help of a powerful figure, I could make some changes.”

    Clair considers it with a grin. “That would be cool, but how would you do it? You’d have to win the championship battle to even get the chance to speak with the Champion and even then, would he listen?”

    The thought of the current Champion, a man named Elijah, laughing in her face and turning down her offer flashes through her mind. He’s a father of three kids, two boys and one girl, and happily married to his wife of fifteen years. The family is often on the front of magazines detailing their lives in the limelight of his fame as champion for the past three years. It’s a lot of work and he’s been known for being kind and patient through it all.

    Serena can’t imagine him being rude to her. Maybe he’d listen and just let it die out over time, but he wouldn’t turn her down. 

Is that worse than laughing in her face?

    “I think he would,” she states with certainty. “If not, I’ll make him listen.”

    “Ooh,” Clair gains interest. “I can see the headline now ‘Girl punches Elijah, now equal opportunity for all!’.”

    Serena rolls her eyes. “Well, no use stressing over it if it won’t happen, right?”

    “Easy for you to say,” Clair mumbles. 

    The blue haired girl continues on about her day coming to this moment. Serena describes a bit of her dream and Clair assures her of her safety. It does little to make her feel better, but she appreciates the sentiment. The two talk a bit more before deciding to head to bed. 

    Serena slides in next to Ty, wrapping herself tight in the blankets, her mind buzzing with all the different topics the two spoke about until she drifts off with thoughts of battles, meetings and life changing events to bring the two regions together. 


	23. It Gets Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter I've been waiting for! It's pretty long and full of surprises. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :P

By morning, Serena groans at the beam of light shining over her eyelids, wrenching her from her uneasy slumber. Everything feels bleak as she goes through the motions of her morning routine. Talking with Clair certainly helped her get some actual rest, but a cloud of anger still hovers over her.  With her things placed neatly on her bed, she searches the city map on the coffee table for the flower shop.

“Good morning!” Lance barges in, his sing-song attitude only making her angrier. 

She narrows her eyes at him over her shoulder. “Morning.”

“I brought some food,” he wiggles his brows. 

Two plates in hand, he slides one on the coffee table for her and one across from her along with some napkins and silverware. He plops down in the opposing spot and peels back the coverings on both plates of food to reveal steaming hot omelettes, breakfast potatoes, fruits and berries, and some meats. Serena’s stomach growls at the aroma of well cooked food and she grumbles a thanks before swiping a sample of all the food on her plate. 

“What’s got you in the dumps this morning?” he tilts his head. 

“What’s got you so cheery this morning?” she mimics his tone and head tilt. 

He snorts. “You know why I am. She was great, too.” He takes a few bites of his food, scanning his section of map before snapping his fingers. “Oh! Is that why you’re crabby? Tired of doing it yourself? I can find someone to help you.”

Serena shoots him an incredulous look. “No, thank you.”

“Oh come on, it’ll loosen you up,” he rolls his shoulders at her. 

“Honestly, I’m good.”

“We’ll see.” 

She lets his bait go as her eyes finally find the little shop. “Over here!” She jabs her finger onto the table top. “By some... condos...”

“What’s wrong?” he leans forward with a marker to circle the spot. 

“I used to live around here,” she murmurs, staring at the condos her parents used to rent out.

Further down the map lies the school she went to and nearly destroyed. A shiver runs up her spine. It’s been years since the incident, but Mrs. Hara’s disgusted face remains fresh in her mind reminding her she is still a monster. 

Lance gauges her mood, running his eyes over her face, tracing the stress lines and seeing the clouds coming in her eyes. His brain says no, he doesn’t know the details of what happened here, just that it was severe enough to make her family retreat to Blackthorn. He’s seen just hints of what her past has done to her, and it’s still so unknown and fresh. Serena carries it all with her to this day, will this help? Or hinder?

It’s enough to nearly make him forget about the flower shop and tell their parents.

Nearly.

 “What do you want to do?” he ventures forth with a gentle tone. 

“I-I’m not sure,” she stumbles. “I just haven’t been back si-since...”

“Right,” he interrupts her attempts to explain. He clasps his hands together and places them on the table in a business manner. “How about we go check out the area and see what you can handle? If it’s too much, how about I go-”

“No, if it’s too much for me we’re calling my dad and your dad.”

Lance’s lip purse as if coming up with an argument, however, he knows how headstrong she is. So no matter how badly she wants to do something right (call their fathers) it doesn’t override the fact that she wants to do good (stop the gambling). She won’t turn down the challenge of being in her old home city. As long as he plays his part right, there will be little to no risk of her having a meltdown in the city.

_ Those are odds I can bet on. _

“Deal.”

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

Celadon sprawls before them, a bustling city filled with skyscrapers and heavy traffic. 

Car, bus, and bike traffic is prevalent, especially on such a nice day. Lance and Serena stick close to prevent separation in the sea of people around them all with intent in their steps. Serena’s head hangs back as she scales each skyscraper with her eyes to the unseeable top above them. The buildings are so large, she’s surprised she can even see the blue of the sky! 

Feeling suddenly small, her attention directs towards the front where Lance has taken the lead in exploring the city. He said the best cover for them is to be dumb teenagers. He’ll go into the flower shop himself since he knows what they’re looking for. Apparently, Wesley took some time to train Lance in the basics of investigation when they were home. 

“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Serena calls to him and then trips on the sidewalk. She collides with him as he stops at the end of the street.

“Oof,” he grunts, catching her by lifting his arm and leaning back. “You alright? Yeah, we’re going the right way.”

She holds his arm for just a moment to get rid of the chill running down her back with so many people about. “Yeah, okay.”

He lifts his arm to hold hers in his grip so they don’t get separated or leave her sprawled out on the sidewalk somewhere. When the light changes, he holds up the folded map to show her the route they’re taking. She zeroes in on the flower shop, noticing they’re also a few blocks away from the casino, and other attractions, in the heart of the city. 

No wonder there are so many people here. 

They make it a few more streets before they turn left and see the little shop half way down the flat and less busy road. Serena inhales deeply once, letting go of Lance, and glancing to their left to see the bookshop he is supposed to meet her in once he’s done. She surveys the area, wondering if she’s ever going to get a foreboding feeling of a memory. 

So far, nothing has triggered a memory lapse or a state of panic while walking around. 

It makes sense, though. 

She was just a child when they lived here, her memories of the place outside of the night she was taken, brought back and her day back at school, are faded. With her father aware of where she is and constantly emailing her for updates, she feels a sense of safety.

“Perfect,” Lance states staring at the sign before glancing down at her. “Okay. I’m going to scope out the outside before going in, see what kind of exits we’re dealing with. Then I’ll go in and pretend I’m buying for a pretty girl-”

“Not much to pretend,” she throws her braid back over her shoulder with a giggle.

He rolls his eyes. “It’s a lot of hard work actually. Ow!” He flinches at her punch in the shoulder. “ _ Anyways _ ! I’ll confirm it’s the place, scope out the exits and see if there’s anything fishy about it.”

“Sounds good,” she nods with a thumbs up. “Good luck.”

“I don’t need luck, I have skills,” he grins again before swaggering off into the crowd. 

With an annoyed sigh, Serena delves into the bookstore, ready to let her thoughts go as she wanders through its dusty shelves. Through the door, it’s like entering a new world of calming ambience,  the shuffle of books being handled, the soft voices of conversations and the gentle singing of a bookshop playlist. It’s nice and cozy inside with the smell of a bakery somewhere in there too.

Her next sigh is of content as she disappears into the shelves, her worry for Lance moving towards the back of her mind.

 

**_OoOoO_ **

Lance feels bad leaving Serena out of this, but he doesn’t want to push her too hard. She seems to have completely forgotten about her parents’ condo around this area and that’s a good sign for him. 

A car honking in the street forces him to focus on the task at hand. 

His stomach rolls with nerves as he walks up to the flower shop, it’s bright and pastel sign suspicious as it gleams in the sunlight. He walks by it first, glancing into the window to find it full of beautiful looking flowers that nearly pull him to a full stop. The building may be small, but nearly every corner is packed to the ceiling with flowers, rows of flowers of different kinds line the walls of the shop and take up most of the space in the middle. Whether or not this is the place, there’s no way it would be on anybody’s radar as an illegal gambling ring. 

He pulls away from the window, careful to look like an innocent teen, and keeps walking past it. He manages to continue on to the alleyway between this shop and an apartment building. 

The ground is wet and sticky, no doubt from dripping garbage bags and who knows what else. He grimaces at the thought and turns his attention up and around him. It’s a narrow alleyway, he and Serena would be cozy standing next to each other with the width, and smelly with two dumpsters towards the back and some garbage bags piled there too. 

_ If you look like you know what you’re doing, a lot of people aren’t going to think twice _ , Wesley’s words ring loud and clear in his mind as he scopes out the side of the flower shop. There’s just a simple door with a light above it and some trash cans of dead flowers next to it. Nothing suspicious, he curses and heads further towards the back to a fence. 

There’s another stretch of dirt that seems to lead in either direction with entrances to some less flashy apartments and businesses. Nothing could come in from this side without someone knowing. 

_ Dead end there. Now to go inside. _

He walks back out to the mouth of the alley and takes a deep breath to gather his courage. Hands sweaty with nerves, he focuses on the goal. Check out the place, and see if there are any hidden entrances or cameras. It shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes to gather what he needs and distract the owner. He turns right and feigns curiosity as he studies the front sign, again, written in blocky, green letters ‘Lila’s Garden’. There’s two hanging baskets on either side of the front door, which is light blue. 

As he walks in, a bell dings overhead and a Vileplume wanders out from between some shelves bursting with flowers. She greets him with a slight bow before calling towards the counter. 

He smiles at the pokemon before turning to watch an old man hobbling towards him. 

_ Run by a harmless old geezer, but don’t let him fool you _ , the sailors words pass through Lance’s mind as he eyes the old man’s cane. 

Just as stated, he looks harmless. A small hunch in his back, graying hair on his head and wrinkles under his eyes and sagging cheeks. He’s wearing a yellow short sleeved shirt with gray slacks under an emerald green apron. When he meets Lance’s eyes, the young man can sense the danger in them right away. They’re a steely gray, not the kind of gray that are mixed with Serena’s eyes. No. This is a man that’s seeing through Lance right to the point. Paranoid, Lance forces himself to think of something else in case the old man is reading his mind. 

“Name’s Dean! Welcome to my humble shop!” Dean waves his arms to showcase the store. Lance notices the muscles in his arms peeking out as if to challenge him. “What can I do for you?”

He nearly forgets what he’s doing and stumbles. “I-I, uh, I was walking by! And noticed how bright your flowers are an-and wanted to buy some?”

Dean eyes him as if scanning for lies. Lance gulps and tries to speak again when the old man finally breaks into a grin. “Ah, looking to shop for someone special. How old are you, boy?”

“It’s Lance, sir,” he says and curses himself for not picking a fake name. “I’m 17.”

“What a ripe age,” Dean winks back. “Had a lot of girls, boys, and in between for myself at that age. Back when I was stronger and young!” He laughs before beckoning for Vileplume to run off and gesturing for Lance to follow. “Tell me about her.”

He never thought to come up with anything for a fake girlfriend, so he just says what comes to mind. 

“Well, we’ve been together for a while but I want to show her I’m serious,” he sniffs at flowers here and there while his eyes roam the ceiling to look for cameras. “She’s got an ocean for eyes, including their own stars that I swear twinkle at night. She’s the calm before my storm and not afraid to let me deal with my own aftermath. There’s a little space between us because she carries some  _ heavy _ things with her, and I just want to help her.”

“Ah, she sounds like a strong woman,” Dean muses while stopping in front of a cluster of different kinds and colors of flowers. He stares at them as if discussing with them which he should take. “Some lilies at the sound of it. Blue hyacinth too. She sounds wonderful.”

“She is,” Lance says it in an exhale of an emotion he’s surprised has come out.

“Ooh, I hear a hint of orange roses.”

The man turns with flowers in hand and plops them in a bucket on Vileplume’s head, the pokemon coos at the choices and trails after her trainer. Lance frowns, and follows the two of them. The roses he walks up to are creamy orange with hints of a reddish tint on the outer part of the petals. It makes the light blue of the hyacinth look like the sky at sunset. 

Into the bucket they go as Dean glances around. 

“How long have you two known each other?”

“Forever.”

Again. Lance is put off by his answers, but forces himself to focus on the plan. He spots no cameras, but two different ways to the back. One is separated by a long cloth that barely hides a back workspace for arrangements and such. The other is a white door with an eyehole and a lock on the front.

_ That has to be it _ , Lance grins at finally finding something. 

“Sunflowers!” Dean exclaims, nearly startling Lance into a shelf behind him. 

The old man laughs and escorts Lance to the back where he moves behind the counter with the pokemon and allows Lance to watch from said counter as he works in the back room. Leaning on the counter, Lance glances around the back but finds nothing unusual or something that screams  _ ‘There’s a gambling ring here! _ ’. Dean commands his attention while adding some more greenery to the bouquet and wrapping it in red silk and brown paper. The old man sings to himself as he works, further surprising Lance. 

No one would be able to know this old man runs something so sinister in his basement. No wonder he’s been here for-well- who knows how long! 

“There you are, Lance,” Dean comes back towards the front holding a beautiful bouquet that immediately reminds him of Serena. He can’t help the smile that erupts on his face. “It’s perfect, I can tell by that smile.”

He tries to hide his smile and pays for his bouquet with an earnest ‘thank you’ before scurrying out the door. Once in the outside air, Lance takes a deep breath of city smells and comes down to earth. His stomach settles, and he feels like he can think freely without Dean interfering with his thoughts. His feet carry him away from the store in a near jog, as though the old man is still watching him and will bust his plan at any moment. 

Once at the bookshop, he checks the flowers for a tracker or camera. He finds nothing and heads in without another worry. 

A blast of warmth meets him as the door opens, offering a stark contrast to the cold steel of the city. Light music plays over head as customers roam amongst rows and rows of shelves chock full of books. The aroma of a bakery fills Lance’s nose and further settles his nerves as he glances around looking for his best friend.

_ If I were Serena, where would I go? _ He thinks to himself, wandering by some shelves towards the back to get a feel for the layout of the shop. 

Some people cast him confused glances, their looks turn into admiration and even envy when they see the flowers in his hand. He pays them no mind as he goes to the upper level and looks for a corner spot with a window. This floor is quieter with only a few other people browsing as he makes his way towards the tall windows at the front of the store. He turns left to see a tall chair in the corner with Serena in it, nose deep in a book on the history of Kanto. 

_ Nerd,  _ he chuckles to himself. Leave it to Serena to find a nice quiet corner and delve into historical text.

“Hey,” he whispers as he approaches. “Let’s go.”

He’s not sure if he suddenly walks into a dream, but he feels strange as he watches Serena glance up, her eyes falling on the flowers in his hand. Her blue eyes grow large, a dark ocean waiting to swallow him up, with stars twinkling in the golden light from the lamp next to her. Her light brown skin looks flawless in the lighting with her chestnut waves framing her face. She must have let her hair out of its loose braid since no one can sit behind her. Her nude lips widening in a breathtaking smile to show her pearly whites. He’s breathless at this moment, heart catching in his chest at the sudden radiance of his best friend, and then it’s gone when she gets up and moves to put the book back where she found it. 

It’s like the rest of the world filters in and he’s going at normal speed, with the normal feel of his body in the world around him. 

“How did it go?” she pops up next to him with her hands behind her back. 

He leads the way out, ignoring the continuing glances of everyone in the shop as they emerge onto the street. He relays the details of Dean, his personality and his shop, he shares that he was scared the moment he saw Dean’s eyes and she looks nervous. But he continues on to explain the layout of the shop and the outside area around it. The beginnings of a plan formulates in his mind now that he’s able to explain the layout. 

“I didn’t think you were actually going to buy flowers,” she states as they wander around aimlessly. “What are we going to do now?” 

“We have time to kill before tonight...” Lance says as if the thought just occurred. He glances at the flowers clutched in his right hand before sticking them out to Serena. 

She stares at him, her eyes wide and innocent. She hesitates, reaching up with her hands as if waiting for him to take it back. Lance is painfully aware of the crowd around them casting them giddy and curious glances. An older woman giggles behind her hand, nudging her husband and outright pointing at them with soft smiles on their own faces. He nudges the flowers towards her hands and smiles when she accepts them and hugs them to her chest. 

The look of pure joy on her face makes his chest warm, she breathes in deeply, her voice coming out as sweet as honey. “Thank you.”

He mutters ‘welcome’ under his breath and continues to lead them deeper into the city, trying not to think of the way she looked in the shop or how she seems to glow with the flowers in her hands. The crowd seems to die down as it begins to approach early afternoon. Lance explains the city’s gym to Serena on the way to the department store. The younger girl drinks in all the information, already forming a plan with Espeon and Ty at the forefront. She’s sure Espeon will still be in her care by then and ignores the ‘what if’ that floats through her mind when she goes over her plan. Those two will be unstoppable with Wynn coming in just in case something goes wrong. 

She steps up to the department store and tilts her head back to see it reach towards the sky with massive windows across the front and sides of the building. Swarms of people enter and exit the store, shopping bags in tow, many laughing and talking animatedly with each other. Serena clutches her flowers close as they enter the store and spies loads of basic cleaning items and such for home-life on the first floor. 

Lance leads her to the escalator to the second floor. All around her, words echo, all too loud or too far for her to grab onto anything and make sense of it. She feels a sense of invisibility in a store like this, like her life is much smaller compared to all the lives in the building. 

Clothes, travel accessories and first aid products come into sight and she can’t help but beam. Some of her clothes have been getting ragged, and dirty, it’ll be great to have a nicer set on the road. 

“I’ll stock us both up on first aid stuff. I made a list in the pokemon center,” Lance pulls out a white piece of paper. “Meet at the bench over there in an hour?”

“For sure,” she grins and takes a step towards the racks when he gestures to the flowers.

“I’ll hold those, I saw you look at the clothes,” he winks and accepts them from her grip. 

She laughs at his watchful eye before disappearing into the clothing section.

Serena delves into pants first, thinking two pairs will be enough since the ones she’s wearing are fine and she can trade out the new ones for old ones. She’s shocked at the sizes she needs, which is bigger, having filled out her body at her hips and other flattering places. Feeling good about herself in some more comfy fitting jeans, she moves on to tank tops and shirts. She gets a mix of darker colors like navy and olive with some brighter colors like some orange-pinks and light blues. 

At the shoe department she doesn’t find anything eye-catching. Her hiking boots and running shoes are still good, so she decides to hold out a little longer. For an outer layer she grabs a rain jacket good for wind and snow. She has yet to encounter snow, but at least she’ll be prepared just in case. She finishes off with some new socks and heads to the checkout counter. 

By the time she’s finished, it’s just in time to meet with Lance. She turns to find him at the bench he pointed to earlier to the right of the escalator, sitting casually with his arms splayed over the backrest of the bench. The flowers and some bags sit next to him, his eyes light up as she approaches, not at all surprised by her haul. 

“I figured some shopping would do you good!” he clears the seat next to him, allowing her to fill the space. 

“Oh yeah?” she challenges with a raised eyebrow. 

He nods and leans back again, staring at the ceiling above them. “You’ve been strangely silent about your old home.”

It’s Serena’s turn to look away, she glances at her shoes on the pristine white tiles and frowns. “To be honest, I’ve been forcing myself to be quiet about it.”

“Why? Are you scared?” he doesn’t move from his spot. His voice is as soft as he can be in a busy mall and have her still hear. 

“Terrified. What happened here was not good, Lance, and I don’t know if I’m ready to face that yet.”

“Not even to try?”

She sits up straight and looks at him. “No. This isn’t something to mess with. I was  _ kidnapped _ , I  _ lost _ a whole month. I don’t remember anything, and I just have scars to mark that it actually happened!”

Lance curls one arm around her shoulder, placing the other on her forearm. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push. I never really realized just how bad it was, it’s been a long time since I heard the story.”

She takes a few deep breaths, her chest pounding at the thought of heading home, and closes her eyes. “I get it, I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just... not now.”

“That’s fair,” he rubs her forearm gently. “Want to get some food and head back?”

Her nod is meek, her stomach heavy at the thought of ruining their outing. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he chuckles and pulls her into a hug. “You’re my best friend, I’m supposed to be an ass and the best at the same time.”

“You do it well.”

“Hey!”

Their eyes meet for a quick moment, golden brown meeting the starry night sky, and they share a laugh before gathering their things and heading to the food court. Going up just one floor, the two take their food and sit in a secluded booth next to a window facing the entirety of Celadon in the western section of the city. 

As the sun begins to set, Serena can see city lights coming alive as well as the lights from cars going to and fro. It’s a nice view to have at an early dinner and just relax. 

_ The calm before the storm _ , she thinks to herself picturing the flower shop in her mind.  _ Hopefully, we’re doing the right thing.  _

 

**_OoOoOoO_ **

The walk home in the cool night air relaxes the two of them. Lance took Serena’s bags so she could hold the flowers. The main street is sprinkled with people trying to find some nightlife to enjoy, men and women dressed to the 9’s in the latest trends. Serena catches Lance staring at a few as they pass a club with the bass so strong it nearly rattles her teeth from her mouth. 

It isn’t until they get to one of the busier squares in the city that they find a bunch of protestors chanting. Lance grabs hold of Serena, the bags knocking into her side as his arm wraps around her, trying to divert them towards the center of the crowd to understand what’s going on. When they get closer, he moves the bags to one hand and wraps the other around her wrist. 

She feels his warmth as well as his protection as they continue on. He takes the lead, gently moving people aside, all of them shouting unintelligible words, stomping or clapping. Some have picket signs and others have cardboard signs in their hands. There’s so much shouting Serena can’t think straight and leans into Lance more.

“-we deserve a system that keeps us in the loop!” a man with a megaphone shouts and points to a sign behind him. The lights turn on, Serena and Lance gasp at the writing on it; across the top it says ‘Get the G-men out in the open!’ with a picture of their fathers and several other agents higher in the chain of command. “For too long they have been sneaking under our noses, striking long after blood has been spilled! We deserve to know what’s going on in our backyard!” 

This causes a collective ‘Yeah!’ across the crowd that’s gathering. 

The two glance at each other with wide eyes. Lance walks up to a woman holding a sign that says, ‘Govern in the open’. “Excuse me, ma’am? What’s he talking about?”

She turns to them, her eyes harsh until she spies two teens looking a little frightened and out of place. Without a second thought, she ushers them towards the outer circle where there’s less noise and they can hear each other speak. Lance’s grip never falters on Serena, eventually and without thought, sliding down her wrist and engulfing her hand. 

She accepts it with a nervous gulp. Their parents being rioted against? For what?

“Much too crowded for you to be here,” the lady comments before moving onto the answer. “The G-men have been performing heists to ‘weed out’ some shady criminals in several places in the city and in neighboring cities and towns. They strike and leave behind a mess for the community to clean up with no explanation whatsoever. Even the police departments are frustrated.”

“They don’t work with local law enforcement?” Serena frowns. 

“Not at all. Which would allow them to be prepared to clean up or even divulge information to the public,” she shakes her head, her lips pursed in anger. “So many communities have struggled to pick up the pieces after them and they offer no apologies!”

“They’re doing their jobs though,” Lance retorts. 

She narrows her eyes. “You’re also  _ much _ too young to understand!” She turns on her heel then and flits away muttering under her breath about ‘kids these days’.

“Lance,” Serena pulls on his arm. At his angered look she rolls her eyes. “We could have gotten more information from her.”

“What does it matter?” he shrugs, still holding her hand. “Our dads are making the world safer. These people are just angry they couldn’t snoop.”

Some glares turn their way and Serena tugs him along with a guilty look. “Let’s talk more at the center.”

It takes a while, but eventually, their hands separate with neither knowing when the other let go.

Once they’re back at the center with bags and flowers in tow, Serena settles the flowers on the windowsill laying them down and wondering where she can get a vase for them. She sorts through her old clothes and trades them out of her pack into the bag while grinning. New clothes are always fun for the first wear. 

Done with that, she plops onto her bed while Lance flips on the TV to see the coverage of the riot. He looks angry just like earlier and Serena rolls her eyes again. He’s always been led by his emotions at the first sight of conflict, often speaking without truly thinking through his words. She wishes he would learn to be the neutral party, his leadership skills are good and he could command a room if he tried... 

Serena pushes the thought away, sitting up and pulling her knees into her chest. “I just think that it’s strange they don’t work with local PD.”

“They don’t have to, G-men have jurisdiction over everything. They don’t  _ have _ to do anything,” he responds, though his voice isn’t as sharp as before. 

“It just seems wrong to have all that power,” she mutters. 

He glances back at her. “Our parents are doing good for the world, Rena. Remember?”

She has so many things to say and think about. They’re acting like their own power, coming in with whatever evidence they may or may not have. There’s no control, no regulation! She may not know about things politically, but this just doesn’t seem correct. 

There has to be a balance.

“Yeah, I guess,” she sighs after a moment. 

He nods before turning down the TV and disappearing into the bathroom to shower. 

She flops onto her back once more and stares at the ceiling. Her thoughts whirl so fast, her brain must be spinning in her skull. So much has happened today and there is still more to happen tonight. They’re doing something dangerous, no better than the G-men themselves, with how they’re about to bust into an illegal poker ring. If bust is even the right word for it. One sixteen year old and one seventeen year old ‘bust’ a ring? 

More like get killed for getting caught there.

Then there’s the oddity of her scars.

They’re quiet. She expects to feel them surge with power at any second but they feel fine. For a moment, she imagines they’re magically gone. There’s no longer a reminder of what happened in that month. How free she would feel if they were completely gone...

With a sigh, she rolls off the bed to pick out something to wear for tonight. 

“I feel like a spy,” she whispers to herself while picking out black jogging pants, a black shirt, and black shoes. 

She puts her hair up in a ponytail while thinking of her favorite spy movies. She laughs at the thought while shooting ridiculous poses around the room. 

The door to the bathroom opens, catching her mid-pose, Lance stares at her with a smirk. Their eyes meet just as he busts out his own pose and the two strike more around the room. Eventually, it turns into a fake shootout with Lance diving behind the couch and Serena holding up pillows as shields while running to the bathroom. She leans out and makes ‘pew-pew’ noises hitting him in the chest. He pretends to be hit, his body convulsing on the ground before he ‘dies’. 

“That was intense,” Serena laughs while fixing the pillows she grabbed from the bed. 

“Good practice,” he chuckles.

She glances over at him sliding some pokeballs on his belt and bites her lip. “Do you think there will be a shootout?”

“I’m not sure,” he shrugs, not really concerned. “Let’s just go and be quick. If we see what he looks like, we can ask our parents to find him. In and out, boom! Done.”

Serena gulps. Easier said than done. If it goes anything like the harbor there’s going to be lots of trouble, and it could be even more dangerous. 

“Hey, don’t worry,” Lance puts a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’ve got Ryu. We will be fine.”

She doesn’t say anything, only nods and follows him out the door. 

The streets are much quieter by the flower shop this time around, no riots, not even any pokemon scrambling about looking for a meal. Her steps echo in her ears sounding much louder than they are. It takes a lot of convincing to relax and keep moving.

Heart in her throat and her palms a bit sweaty, Serena sticks close to Lance as they come up on the street of the shop. Lance takes the lead, walking by the entrance and dipping down the alleyway with Serena close behind. He checks the back end for any guards standing nearby and gives her a thumbs up it’s clear. 

At the door on the side of the building, he presses his ear to it trying to find signs of life on the inside. Serena moves to do the same when her pokeball falls from her belt and out pops Espeon. The noise it makes throws the girl’s heart into a frenzy and she scrambles to pick up the ball and put it back. Lance glares at the psychic type, one finger to his lips to ensure she stays quiet. 

Espeon ignores him and sniffs at the foot of the door. She shakes her head,  _ empty _ . 

Serena relays the message and then watches in shock as Lance picks the lock as if he’s done it a million times already. 

“I’ve picked up some new skills,” he shrugs. “I’ve done nothing illegal, just impressed a few girls is all.”

“Liar,” she mutters as they huddle close to the wall and make their way to the counter. 

The smell of dirt, fertilizer, and flowers permeates the air. With one hand towards the ground, Serena can feel bits of dirt on her fingers as they make their way to the back. She eyes all the flowers in the shop and wonders just how good the business end must be to order so many plants to fill the shop this much. 

She has no doubt it’s a lot based on the bouquet. The flowers were gorgeous.

Lance pushes open the half door at the counter and ushers the other two through. On this side, Serena can see past a sheet to a room where the arranging happens as well as a tall stack of boxes in the same area. Next to that opening is a white door with an eye hole and a spot for a lock that is empty. 

“They must be down there, there was a lock earlier,” Lance gestures. He turns to Serena and Espeon. “Is there someone on the other side of the door?”

Espeon sniffs again at the foot of the door, then stares at it as though she has x-ray vision. She turns to Serena.  _ There’s one guard at the top of the stairs and another at the bottom. _

Once that is passed to Lance, he comes up with a plan for a distraction using Serena and Espeon’s abilities. Serena’s heart races as they take refuge in a dark nook by some aprons and gardening equipment. She’s never used her powers for something like this, only for things out of reach, and that was a rare occasion. 

Would they even work now?

With a deep breath, she decides to try since they are going to need it now, and focuses on the door they came in through. With it wide open, she imagines it slamming shut in her mind’s eye, the way it would feel to push the door closed and projecting it across the room. She lifts a hand to help focus and jumps a bit when the resulting slam is harder than anticipated. Espeon tosses the register to the ground as well for added effect.

Immediately, two sets of footsteps rush up the stairs. Two men burst through the door, hunched and ready to attack. 

“Looks like we have thieves here,” one of them snarls. 

They spy the swinging door and move to search through the main shop. Lance clutches Serena to him as she forces her face into his shoulder to keep quiet. Espeon uses confusion to knock over the trash can right across from the door to lure them away.

“We can’t let them get away!” one of the guys yells. They burst through the door and head down the alleyway. 

Lance doesn’t miss a beat. He grabs Serena’s hand and heads down the steps as quietly and quickly as possible. At the bottom of the steps they find a dark tunnel. Espeon takes the lead as it takes them to a curtained door. On the other side they hear talking and laughing as though nothing happened upstairs.

Peeking around the curtain Lance spies boxes all over the place, offering adequate hiding space, as well as a covered path to some boxes to their left. He goes first, keeping low to the ground and moving slow and steady. Serena holds her breath, one ear towards the group in front of them, the other behind them to hear the guards coming back. She waits until he signals, a quick flick of his wrist and does a sloppy job of moving over. Her feet nearly catch on themselves and she almost falls on her face but Lance catches her. 

Espeon joins them, and the players are oblivious to it all. 

The two peek between the boxes to see five players and the dealer hunched over a round table with a lone light over it. There’s a bar against the back wall, many bottles of liquor shining in the harsh light, with two more guards on either side of the bar and two more to the left and right of the table. The guards hold glasses filled with a brown liquid, some stumble as they try to make rounds while the others are clearly having trouble just standing still. 

_ No wonder we got in easily, _ Serena thinks to herself as she sees the two guards from earlier come racing back down. 

“We found nothing, Boss. No money from the register was taken either,” one of them tells an older man Lance recognizes as Dean. 

“Probably some shits trying to steal some cash, got spooked by their own noise,” he shrugs while dealing out some more cards. “Go back to your post and don’t worry about it. No one is suspicious of my shop.”

The two stop at the bar for drinks before heading back to their spots. The two teens share a knowing look at each other, no backing out now, and decide to sit and watch. Espeon huffs, but does the same.

“What’ll it be, Gents?” Dean glances around the table, even at this distance Lance can feel his stare piercing into his soul. 

“I’ve got a Porygon,” one guy places a pokeball on the table. 

“That’s nothin’!” another sneers. “Stole this purebred Lapras off a lady the other day. Didn’t know what hit her!”

The next guy puts forward an Eevee, the fourth guy says he’s got a shiny Pidgey in his pokeball, and the fifth guy offers an insane amount of money. 

The sixth pauses before placing a wad of cash forward. “I’m just trying to cover my losses.”

The table is full of snickers and the first guy speaks up. “Still mad about losing your prized Epseon, eh?”

_ He’s here _ . Serena jerks her head towards Espeon to find the pokemon trying to get a better view and flicking her tail angrily.

_ Don’t do anything yet, _ Serena warns the pokemon.  _ We need to get a better view. _

The pokemon grunts quietly, but her tail and ears stay perked towards the table. Serena glances at Lance and nods,  _ everything is okay _ , before they sneak around to a better vantage point. The conversation gets louder as Espeon’s trainer continues to rant about that day. 

“Asshole walks in like he owns the place, and bets millions of bucks on the game! How am I supposed to turn that down? And from fresh meat, no less!” the guy grumbles while Dean shakes his head and the others snort. “How was I supposed to know he’d win? Then he left, like he knew I was going to be here and I was going to bet that damn Espeon. My lucky prize, I was saving her for somethin’ real good!”

Espeon growls, it’s quiet enough they can’t hear it but just enough to make Serena shoot her a worried look. 

“You’re never going to let it go, huh?” one of the other players shakes his head while picking up his cards. 

“No! That douche knew somethin’!” the guy roars. “I’ve been on a losing streak since. What I’d do for that Espeon back. She was from some spoiled brat in Vermillion on vacation years and years ago. Bet they don’t even remember her, but I will. Brought me some good luck, she did. And pokemon.”

_ Enough! I am not an object! _

Before anyone can stop her, Espeon leaps forward, over the boxes and right by the table. Serena and Lance stare at each other while the table erupts in swears and suddenly the men are standing to look at her in shock. They stay back to see what they’ll do, Lance has Ryu’s ball in hand while Serena fumbles for Ty’s.

Dean is the first to break the tense silence. “All that bitchin’ was good in the end, I guess. This the Espeon you’re looking for, Finn?”

Her old trainer, Finn, leans over the table and squints his eyes at Espeon as if she changed drastically. His mouth pops open, and his sleazy grin gives Serena the shivers as he rounds the table to approach his -no-  _ her _ pokemon as though she were a fancy car. He claps his hands and bends at the waist to study her. 

“I can’t believe it, she looks better than when I had her,” Finn mutters before glancing in the direction that she came. “But how did she get in?”

“The boys heard a door slam, maybe she gave them the slip,” Dean shrugs, he’s oddly calm about this situation. “Or, she had help.”

Serena’s heart plummets to her stomach as Dean’s eyes roam over to their spot. It feels as though he’s looking through the tiny crack right at her. Lance puts his hand on her back to keep her steady, his breath quiet as they try to keep calm. 

“Come out,” the command leaves the old man’s mouth in an icy tone.

Lance swears under his breath and pops up with Serena next to him. Their hands up in surrender, pokeballs and all, before moving out into the open. All except Finn stand up and move their hands to their belts in a fight ready stance. Serena’s knees tremble when she sees they’re not reaching for pokeballs, but guns.

“Ah, Lance, is it?” Dean rounds the table, holding up his hand to put his allies at ease. “I did not expect to see you here. Is this her?”

Serena frowns but doesn’t dare glance over at Lance, instead, her eyes are on her pokemon as Finn murmurs something to her. “Leave her alone!”

“Quiet, bitch!” Finn snarls back. 

Espeon doesn’t like that. The pokemon's tail flicks once, then her eyes glow blue, and Finn starts to glow blue. Everyone watches with jaws dropped as she flings him back into a pile of boxes. This effectively knocks him out from the impact and sends some dust into the air. 

“Hold it!” Dean shouts as the men move to attack the pokemon. He turns back to the kids, his stare cold as ever. Lance moves to block Serena’s view of it and keep her far from harm. “Are you just here for revenge for Espeon?”

“Ye-Yes!” Serena blurts out, moving one hand to gesture for the pokemon to come back. “We won’t say anything to anyone.”

“That’s a lie, my dear,” Dean grins at her, watching the psychic type saddle up to her. “You strike an unusually strong resemblance to the man that came in here to win her. I’m assuming he’s your father,” he notes her sound of disgust and mends his statement, “or relative. He came here to win her for you and not just anyone can own a psychic type. Finn, despite being a complete idiot, had some  _ gifts _ that were welcomed here.”

“What do you want?” Lance demands, ever the most patient boy.

Dean ignores him. “I wonder what lengths he’d go through to get you back.”

Serena glares at him. “You’re not keeping me.”

“My dear,” the old man chuckles, waving at his guards to move in. The men draw their weapons, pointing them at the teens while moving in step by step. “I’d like to see you fight us off.”

Clutching Lance, Serena tries to focus enough to move them away but there’s too much fear pumping through her veins and too much panic in her head. Espeon snaps at a few of the men as they approach, but they strike out at her, urging her back towards the two. Lance lashes out with a fist, only to be caught and yanked away from Serena. She cries out for him as he’s pushed to the ground with a pained grunt. One guard goes for her, she screams, trying to fight her way out of his grip. 

She falls into another guards grip, his arms like a vice around her shoulders and waist. Another man grips Espeon by the scruff of her neck, the pokemon whimpers as Serena cries out for her. Her voice turns hoarse with all her screaming.

There’s a sudden  _ thunk _ and the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs makes everyone pause. Dean holds up his hand to keep the men silent as the footsteps head towards the door, Serena tries to scream again but someone smacks her face. She blinks away tears and dots in her vision as the door at the top of the stairs bursts open and footsteps rush down the steps. 

The man lets go of her, letting her fall to the ground as a small canister rolls in and explodes, filling the stuffy room with smoke. It’s the catalyst to chaos as men begin shouting everywhere. 

Serena rolls out of the way of stomping feet, looking for Lance in the smoke and legs rushing around.  Amidst it all, she calls for Espeon and Lance, her eyes still unable to focus well with the mix of pain and smoke. On her hands and knees, she crawls through the muggy space and screams when someone clamps their hand around her ankle and yanks her back. She turns and tries to kick out, ignoring the sting of the floor on her sides as she’s dragged a couple of feet. 

The person leans down and she comes face to face with Dean. There’s more shouting, most of it from her as she calls for help. In a flash of red hair, Dean is on the ground and Lance gets up from tackling him and rushes to Serena. He huddles over her, hushing her as the chaos begins to slowly die down. 

Serena calls for Espeon and the pokemon is suddenly at her side, burrowing into her for comfort. It feels like they’re on the ground for hours, but it’s only minutes as the smoke flushes from the building thanks to the beating wings of a flying type somewhere above them. Lance pulls away when a voice stops him from moving. 

“Lance? Serena?” Aaron breaks through the wall of agents at the entrance of the room.

The two look up to find their fathers staring down at them with increasing fury.

Serena averts her gaze to see the players getting arrested by the other agents with their parents and wonders how they knew they were here. She feels a sense of relief but also fear. They’re safe, but at what cost? Two furious parents, they’re going to get the speeches of a lifetime.

“Ryan, watch these three,” Wesley calls another agent over. “Get them outside and make sure they’re okay.”

The two don’t meet the harsh gazes of their fathers as Ryan beckons them over and leads them outside where some armored cars and an ambulance sits. There’s a crowd beginning to form and Serena wonders if another riot is going to break out here. Ryan urges Serena to get checked out, eyeing the slight swelling in her cheek from being hit. 

With Lance at her side, Serena sits on the edge of the ambulance and does as told by the medic. She’s given ice for her face while they check, clean the scratches on her sides and then given the okay to go. Lance gets the okay as well, his hit wasn’t too bad, and he takes a seat on the ground next to Serena. Espeon sits in front of them, facing away from them, studying the street as the players are escorted out. A murmur runs through the crowd as the men are shoved into cars.

The pokemon stirs when her trainer comes out last, she runs over growling and snapping at him. He tries to kick out at her, but the agent holding him jerks him away and towards the car with the rest of them. Espeon’s ears fall back and she lets out a mournful cry.

It tears at Serena’s heart, she finds herself running over to Espeon and kneeling beside the psychic type. “Hey, it’s okay. He’s a jerk that doesn’t deserve you.”

_ Where am I going to go?  _ Espeon glances at her. There are no tears falling, only glassy purple eyes staring at her looking lost.  _ I belong nowhere, then? _

“You belong anywhere you want to be. If you want to stay with me, I would love to have you. If not, I’ll help you find a home,” she promises her pokemon with a gentle pat on her head. “Don’t give up.”

The psychic type leans into her hand, nodding before asking to be back in her pokeball. Serena returns her with no comment and places the ball back on her hip. She turns to Lance to find him staring past her. She tenses up and turns to find their parents stalking their way, she grimaces and shuffles to her feet along with him. 

“What were you guys doing? What were you  _ thinking _ ?” Aaron starts with barely contained anger.

“This could have gone bad fast, you two are extremely lucky,” Wesley adds in.

Mouths open, ready to shout some more when the crowd begins to grow loud in their boos and angry calls. The men glance at each other and then at their agents. Lance and Serena get put on hold as they shout some orders for the agents to move quickly. The men and women on their team scurry around to clean up a little bit of their mess before disappearing into their cars. The crowd grows more rapant, shouting insults and throwing whatever they can get their hands on at the passing vehicles. 

Aaron gathers the kids in his grasp and pulls them in the opposite way of the crowd, down the street and away from the flower shop. Serena and Lance stumble after Aaron, both worried for Wesley as he does crowd control. Once they get a few blocks away, they focus on their goal and remain silent. At the center, everyone is silent as the trainers drop off their pokemon with Joy up front and get escorted to their room. They take turns changing and sit on the same bed, waiting for something to happen while Aaron waits in the lobby. 

The events careen around Serena’s mind, creating a high pitch sound as she tries to process everything. She leans her head on Lance’s shoulder, thinking about Espeon’s cry and how they’re going to move on from here. Brokenhearted and unsure of her place, Espeon is more like Serena now than ever. He leans his head over hers and releases a deep sigh. 

“It’s my fault we were there,” he speaks into the silence. 

Serena stiffens. “Don’t be the hero now. I could have said no, but I wanted to know what was going on just as badly. We are both at fault.”

“We could have gotten hurt, you almost got taken away again,” Lance tightens his hands into fists in his lap. Serena places her hand on his, turning her head to look at him. His eyes meet hers and the usual light in them is dim, as though he’s in pain. “What would I have done then?”

Without thinking, Serena gathers him up in a hug by throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing tight. He wraps his arms around her middle and holds her just as fiercely, burying his head in the crook of her shoulder and breathing in her scent. They hold each other close, chest to chest, their breathing in sync. 

“We were lucky our parents were there,” Serena concedes. She releases him, moving her head to his shoulder and slipping her left arm to loop with his right. “I’m just glad no one got hurt or worse.”

He nods, taking a deep breath and pulling away to hold her shoulders in a gentle grip. Serena notices how close they are, nothing that hasn’t happened before, but this time feels different. The air around them is electric and her body feels like it’s alive and tingling. Their eyes meet and it’s like he’s an all new person with a jawline that’s starting to show, a strong brow, and kissable lips. His eyes swallow her up in their golden hue, leaving her stomach spinning with Butterfree.

His hands slide down her arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake, coming to a stop at her wrists where he cradles her hands in his lap. “I don’t want to be the reason something bad happens to you. I don’t know what I’d do with myself. Clair would definitely kick my ass, though.”

“She would,” Serena finds herself chuckling. She takes his hands and squeezes them. “You would never do anything to hurt me.”

He shrugs and pulls her in. “Never say never, I made some stupid choices tonight.”

“We both did.”

It’s silent as they sit there for a moment more, hands intertwined and minds reeling. Serena feels whole, warm, and excited to be in his grasp so openly and for this long. Lance doesn’t understand why he can’t let her go. Maybe he’s afraid her parents will forbid her to continue and take her home; leaving him alone to finish the rest of his journey on his own. He never wanted her hurt, but when Dean threatened to kidnap her he felt useless. He never wants to feel that way ever again, not with someone he cares for. 

Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want to let go. This is his best friend, he does love her as a best friend, and that’s normal. But why is his stomach fluttering? Why does touching her feel so good? 

_ Knock. Knock. _

__ The two pull away slowly as Lance gets up to open the door. His mind clearing of any thoughts as he braces for the lecture he’s going to be getting from his father. The door opens revealing the duo now dressed in civilian clothing, and still looking as furious as they were earlier. The teens keep their eyes down, feeling like children back when they got into trouble for dragging mud in the house or pulling pranks on neighbors. The difference is the actual trouble Serena feels she’s in and worries about her punishment.

Wesley asks Lance to leave the room for a talk in a different spot while Aaron takes a seat in Serena’s bed across from his daughter. Lance glances back at Serena, the two share tiny smiles of encouragement, before he’s gone out the door. Aaron lets out a stressed sigh as if releasing all the pressure built up over the course of the day. Guilt consumes her for stressing her father out further than his job already does.  

His dark brown eyes are sharp as he stares at her, taking note of her swollen cheek, and feels relief she’s okay.  “Explain to me what you were thinking.” Serena begins to tell him the story of the port in Vermillion when he holds up his hand. “I’ll listen to that later, I want to know your thought process. Why would you not call and tell me?”

“We didn’t have proof,” She replies in an even tone.

“I could have gotten you proof. It’s my job to investigate suspicious activity,” he crosses his arms. “What happened?”

Serena delves into the story of Vermillion Port and everything else up until now. She leaves out the shopping trip, but explains about the riot she and Lance ran into on the way back to the pokemon center. Aaron looks less pleased with each passing minute and Serena worries about what he’s thinking or what’s going to happen to her. 

Once she’s finished, it’s silent for a few breaths between them as Aaron processes the story still with crossed arms. 

“I’m disappointed,” he finally speaks, and Serena deflates. “You know better than this. You may be out on your journey, but this city is dangerous. I shouldn’t have to say it out loud to you. I know Lance loves a good adrenaline rush, but you usually talk him out of something like this.”

Tears well up in Serena’s eyes. It’s true, she’s usually the voice of reason, and she really messed up this time. 

Aaron moves to sit next to her, pulling her in. “Sweetie, I’m just disappointed that you chose something so dangerous to go along with. I get you’re out here on your own and you want to take risks because your parents aren’t there to stop you, but this crossed the line,” he kisses her forehead as the tears pour over. “I’m furious you would barge into an illegal poker ring without any form of protection. Or even a plan at the looks of it, but you’re not just going through the motions of your journey and I guess I have to realize that you’ll make mistakes.”

Serena sniffles. “So, I’m not in trouble?”

“Oh you are in so much trouble,” Aaron barks a laugh. “I will be discussing this with your mother tonight, but for now, I’m just so happy you’re okay.” He pulls her into a hug then, squeezing her tight. “You’re lucky the G-men were investigating this ring and were planning a bust tonight. Don’t keep testing your luck.”

“After tonight, I think I’m done testing it,” she sighs pulling back to wipe her face of tears. 

“Good,” he helps her and places another kiss on her forehead. “Do you need to talk about anything? There were a few guns pointed at you, are you okay?”

Serena considers it a moment. The flashes of guns pointed at her sends shivers down her spine. They could have been shot. But Dean’s threat flashes in her head and she realizes he would have taken her alive and maybe it’s Lance that should be talked with. There would have been no reason to keep him alive, except for maybe his pokemon and that would have been taken care of fast. 

“I think I’m okay,” she finally states. “I’ll let you know if that changes, though. Just trying to get my head to relax after all that.”

“That’s fair,” Aaron pats her back. “Wesley and I will be staying at the end of the hall, if anything happens or you want to talk, come to us.”

“I promise,” she kisses his cheek. “Thanks for not yelling.”

“You would never respond to that, just like your mother,” he laughs, kissing her head again. This time he holds her head to his lips and takes a deep breath. He really thought she would have been hurt tonight. She opts not to tell him about the threat of kidnapping from the head of the ring and leans on him. “I love you, Serena. No matter what.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

He lets her go and heads out the door with a soft goodnight. 

She lets out a sigh of her own, rocking herself off the bed and moving to gather some blankets and sit on the couch. She flips on the TV and finds the news channel. Immediately, she’s met with the scene from tonight’s raid and turns up the volume. The reporter talks about the history of the flower shop and the background of its owner, Dean. A chill runs down her spine at the sight of Dean’s picture, a happy old man instead of the cold, calculated man they saw tonight. The man that grabbed her and tried desperately to drag her away and keep her hidden to flush out her uncle.

Behind her, the door opens and closes a bit harsher than her father’s exit. Footsteps march all the way to her and Lance collapses on the couch. She hands him a pillow and some of her blanket, allowing him to get comfortable, before turning down the news to ask, “How much trouble are you in?”

“Got the biggest lecture of my life, and told that mom will be giving me another one tomorrow,  _ and _ they will be discussing a punishment for me,” he sighs and wraps himself up in the blanket next to her. “You?”

“Not really a lecture, but also a delay in punishment until Mom is consulted,” she shrugs.

“You cried?” he mutters, suddenly his hand comes up to cup her cheek and touches the red streaks there.

Her face warms at his touch, and she almost leans into his hand. “Just a little, he said he was disappointed, and I teared up a bit.”

“That’s harsh,” he says in a sympathetic tone. His hand drops to his lap, and he turns towards the TV. “It looks like a mess.”

“Ye-yeah,” Serena stammers at the loss of contact and turns towards the screen too. “Looks like they weren’t aware the G-men were in the area and were going to bust them. There’s a daycare near there, and the parents would like to have known something dangerous was happening just blocks away. Also the local police would like to have been there to help considering they were also looking into the situation.”

Lance scoffs at the summary but doesn’t say anything else.

The two continue to watch the news at a lower volume. Serena makes some popcorn and turns on the lamps to turn off the overhead lights. With the excitement from the bust, neither of them feel as though they are going to be heading to bed anytime soon. They watch the news repeat itself, as if waiting for something more to happen, the crowd long gone and the live feed replaced with the recording. 

“I don’t know why they’re so mad, the trouble is gone,” Lance wonders as an interview with a man from the crowd replays. He rotates his arms, his hands moving to massage his back, he hisses while pressing at an especially sore spot.

“That’s not the point,” Serena shakes her head, tossing popcorn into the air and catching it with expertise. “What’s wrong with your shoulder?”

“It feels sore, probably from throwing myself over you,” he flexes his arm, showing off the muscle there before wincing at his shoulder's movement. 

“Do you want a massage?” 

He considers it, and then nods. “Yes, anything to make the ache go away.”

She gestures for him to turn around on the couch while she sets the bowl aside, her hands come up to rest over his shoulders partially covered by his tank top. His skin feels warm and soft under her cool fingertips, he shivers at her touch, closing his eyes and leaning back as she begins kneading the stiff muscles in his left shoulder. A current pulses between their bodies, raising the temperature in their little blanket fort and making the air thick. 

The soft glow from the lamps and the TV pulls Lance into a dreamy lull. He focuses on Serena’s breathing behind him and the movement of her fingers over his back. She hits the right spots, forcing small gasps and little moans from him, making her giggle and press harder. He leans into that laugh, trying to get more out of her by over-exaggerating certain sounds. He leans back all the way, his shoulders feeling like jelly, and his mind abuzz with the feel of her hands on him and the sounds of her happiness ringing in his ears. 

Her body is soft, yet strong, under his own as he leans his head back in her lap and gazes at her with a lazy smile. “That was amazing, thank you.”

Laughing, Serena pats his shoulders. “My turn.”

He sits up immediately, gesturing for her to turn around while stretching his fingers and rubbing his hands together. Having seen her scars before, but only having touched them once, he’s surprised Serena wants a back rub. Honestly, she’s surprised she’s letting him do it. Only her mother gives her back rubs, and that was during meditation. 

Her scars are quiet, though, and she wouldn’t mind a little massage to get rid of the tension in her shoulders.

“Just be gentle,” she murmurs as he runs his hands over her t-shirt and across her shoulders to see where she’s tense.

“I promise,” he whispers back, his voice closer than she expected.

His warm fingers slide up over her shoulder near the base of her neck and gently press in. His thumbs fall into a circular rhythm with a gentle squeeze with every upward stroke. Serena closes her eyes and sits up, her body alight at the feel of him working her muscles and sitting so close to her. As he moves along the sides of her scars, Serena lets out a moan of euphoria and, just as quickly, covers her mouth. 

Face flushed and eyes wide, she turns back a bit to apologize to Lance. “That was so bad, I’m so sorry.”

His expression is like hers, but for different reasons, he manages a laugh and waves it off. “I made some of those noises too, you’re fine. I’m not done yet.”

She turns back and tries to focus on control as he begins to work again. Under his skilled fingers, she squirms and struggles to keep quiet. He moves further down her back. Upon reaching the middle he presses on the stiff muscles there and she arches her back. A blush forms on his face, and he adjusts himself in his pants, deriding himself for getting turned on by her movements.

He manages to finish her massage without further incident and is about to get up when she leans back. His hands splay across her shoulders, trying to catch her before she lands in his lap and realizes what’s happening, when her eyes meet his. Her pupils are huge in the soft lighting of the room and everything disappears around them. The sound of the TV, the flicker of the scenes from the raid, and even the couch holding them up all fall away. 

It’s like tunnel vision with only each other at the ends.

_ She can feel it, I know she can _ , he panics in his head as she relaxes in his touch. 

When she speaks, her voice is gentle if a bit shaky. “Is it my fault?”

His adam’s apple bobs in his throat, his eyes unable to gaze away, and cheeks flaring. “Ye-yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t be, it’s not like that. It’s not your fault, per se, it’s my reac-reaction to you-your noises.”

“Oh.”

The word hangs there, between them, and he’s unsure how to process it. It sounds disappointed, did she  _ want  _ to turn him on? Or did she want to be the reason he’s turned on? Or... does she feel the same?

“Do you want me to leave?” she whispers. 

Lance swallows again, his eyes following her lips as they press together and then part in the slightest for her to breathe. His eyes meet hers and he shakes his head just enough for her to understand he wants her to stay. She moves in a fluid motion to sit and turn towards him. Her eyes never leave his as the distance between their bodies stays the same. Now the air is electric, coming alive with tension as they tiptoe around the situation. 

“You want me to stay?” she speaks again in a slight whisper.

“If you want to,” he nods. He moves to place his leg on the couch, the other hanging off, and opens his lap up. “I-I...” She watches him, wondering what to do, her blue eyes swallowing him whole and making him harder in the process. Another swallow. He reaches out to her arm, trailing down to her hand and gives it a squeeze. “Do you... do you feel it too?”

Serena tilts her head, can she feel the warmth emanating from him? The sparks from his touch? Yes. But there’s something else there, something she’s less familiar with when it comes from someone else. Her stomach flutters, her core is hot and more than likely wet, and she’s never felt like baring herself to someone else like how she wants to with Lance in this moment. 

“Yes.”

He leans forward, pulling her towards him, his eyes tracing every bit of her face. Memorizing the roundness of her cheeks, the slope of her jawline to her soft chin. The beauty mark just under her left eye, and a few freckles dusting her nose and the plump of her lips. He watches as she breathes in, closes her eyes and meets him all the way. 

His eyes fall shut as their lips meet and the world spins. Her hands come up to cup his face, leaving his to fall to her hips. He squeezes her, pulling her closer onto his lap. She gasps at the feel of his length against her inner thigh. Their lips dance, their hips grind and hands explore each other. Blood on fire, they start to become desperate in their movements, tongues meet, and moans grow louder.

Serena’s eyes roll back as he pulls away and moves towards her neck. Her mind buzzes with all the touches and pleasure she’s getting from him. Their bodies move a bit awkwardly, still new to the situation and unable to process that it’s real and it’s happening. When Lance nearly falls off the couch, he decides to move them to the bed. 

To break the tension, he hoists her up, legs around his waist, and laughs when she squeals. His husky laugh draws her eyes to his, their gazes stay as he stumbles to his bed. At the edge, he leans down and places her on her stomach and presses kisses to the back of her neck. 

“How are your scars?” Lance whispers as his lips brush her sensitive skin. 

Serena shivers as he continues down her back, his fingers ghosting her skin to lift her shirt up.  His lips press against each line of her scars and leaves a trail of heat. “Not hurting me.”

“Good,” he whispers coming back up to twist her onto her back and press her into the bed.

It’s an explosion of pleasure as Serena learns all the places Lance wants to explore, places he wants to kiss to make her feel so good. He’s gentle with her, always waiting for permission and seeing if she’s okay with what he’s doing and she’s so willing it drives him crazy. In the bedside table, there is a drawer with some condoms in it and Serena is grateful when it comes time to use it and Lance knows what he’s doing. 

Their bodies bare, truths laid out to each other, the two meet their ends together and relax into a euphoric embrace. Mind humming with energy, the two whisper about their thoughts of the day and just how scared they were for each other and how badly they wanted to get out of there. Lance holds her close, his hand brushing up and down her thigh as her arms circle his midsection. The covers are off and tangled with their mess of legs at the end of the bed. 

Still in a sexual haze, the conversation slowly dies as lips meet again with fervor and hunger. Hands start roaming, setting them both off and into a night filled with pleasure and no plan for the morning.


End file.
